


The Beginning of a Family

by LizzeXX



Series: The Lunar Cycle [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Drama, Embedded Images, F/M, Fluff, Gallifrey, Links, Mental Institutions, Mind Link, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Pregnant Character, Romance, Soulmates, Telekinesis, The Doctor and Evy are Links, The Doctor has no chill, The Doctor/Evy, The Last Great Time War, The Lunar Cycle, The Question, The Silence, Thuna - Freeform, Time Lords, Time Tot, Time Travel, Time baby, Travel, Who is River Song?, baby time lord, doctor who - Freeform, linking, series 6 rewrite, space travel, time lady - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 164,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26416930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzeXX/pseuds/LizzeXX
Summary: The Doctor is in for the adventure of his lives. His Link, Evy, a Time Lady, is pregnant. His companion might be as well. How will he deal with this on top of the mystery of who River Song is and the threat of the Silence and Lake Silencio hanging over him? Will Evy and the child even survive?11/OCTime Lady
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/Original Female Character(s), The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Original Female Character(s), The Doctor/Evy Daniels, Theta/Luna, Thuna - Relationship
Series: The Lunar Cycle [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1104399
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. The Impossible Astronaut

**Author's Note:**

> I have been plagiarized many times since I began writing fanfiction :( So please, do not copy my work onto other sites. And if you see my work, whether in full or tweaked or mish-mashed into other people's works, reach out to me on tumblr (LizzeXX) and let me know so I can look into it, post evidence on my tumblr's 'Plagiarizers' page, and ask for help reporting when it happens :(
> 
> I have seen it all by now. From people flat out copying everything and just pasting it as is, to changing the OC's name or from 3rd to 1st person, to alternating parts of their own work with putting in parts of mine, to starting off originally and then transitioning to my work, to using Proffy for 1 story then switching to Evy in their next, to people literally taking chunks from 5 different series and piecing it together into a story, so please, PLEASE, let me know if you see it happening. I am nervous enough posting this on AO3 or any other site, it is reassuring to me if people can keep an eye out and just let me know if you see anything happening :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome to my story, the fifth in the Lunar Cycle which introduces my OC/Time Lady Evelyn 'Evy' Daniels (AKA Luna) into DW as the Link of the Doctor. This will be a revision of Series 6 so I would recommend reading the first stories in this series (The Hidden Lady of Time, Alone No Longer, Together At Last, and Linked Through Time) before reading this to fully understand who Evy is, her special talents, and her relationship with the Doctor (exactly what Linking is/Links are).
> 
> A description of Evy...she's a Time Lady currently on her 11th body. She is a slightly short (about 5'5") blonde woman who wears her hair in a high ponytail, with one strand that tends to fall out of it. She has hazel eyes and a button nose. She tends to wear 'western' style outfits, namely a pair of pants tucked into knee high boots, a tank top, and a jacket over it. She was also given a 'holster' belt by the Doctor during Christmas to keep her sonic in, completing the look. She is also, I'm happy to say, pregnant (a pregnancy which lasts 18 months). I picture her as looking similar to Emilie de Ravin.
> 
> ~8~ scene change
> 
> 'italics' telepathic communication
> 
> This story will be updated daily, with two chapters per episode and one chapter per episode for 2-parter adventures. It will also follow mostly the Doctor/Evy's POV but include some scenes where the Doctor or Evy is mentioned/talked about.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who...or else we wouldn't be waiting months between The Angels Take Manhattan and the Christmas Special...

There was a banging noise outside the room as a set of doors were thrown open, "Out of my way!" a man shouted, pounding on the locked doors to the room, "Doctor! DOCTOR!" the doors burst open and a man in Victorian garb and a gray wig strode into the room with a mess of men, all with swords. He looked over at a small pile of clothing lying on a table and a row of paintbrushes and paints set up, before his gaze fell on a picture, recently painted, of a man, clearly the mysterious Doctor, standing there, holding a trident, a string of red cloth cutting across his front, keeping him decent, as small cupids stood on the clouds around him.

The man turned his attention to the young woman who had painted the picture, "Where's the Doctor?" he demanded.

She laughed a bit, "Doctor who?"

Her ruse might have worked had there not been a sneeze from beneath her skirt. The man's eyes widened as he stepped forward and, using the tip of his sword, lifted the skirt as the Doctor's head popped out from under it.

"You know…" the Doctor began, clearly naked, "This isn't _nearly_ as bad as it looks…"

The glare the man sent him let him know he was absolutely wrong…that and the fact that the man grabbed the painting and punched his fist through it. He sighed inwardly, there went his gift for Evy…

~8~

Rory was putting groceries on the countertop as Amy read from a large red book, "'At the personal intervention of the king, the unnamed Doctor was incarcerated, without trial, in the Tower of London.'"

"Ok, but it doesn't have to be him," Rory argued.

"'According to contemporary accounts, the next night a woman arrived in court dressed in a scandalous outfit comprising a tunic and trousers to plead his case…'"

"Doesn't have to be Evy either."

"'When the king refused her request for the Doctor's release, that same night a magical sphere some twenty feet across was seen floating away from the Tower, bearing the mysterious Doctor aloft. Witnesses claim to have heard a smack resound just before the light disappeared.'"

"Ok, it's them."

"There's more…"

~8~

The Doctor honestly had no idea how he'd ended up in this situation. He'd gotten a call from Jack Harkness, apparently one of his friends in WWII had gotten captured by the Germans and had mysteriously been rescued. After having met the new Doctor Jack worked out who the bow-tied man who had saved his friend was. Not wanting Evy to worry about Jack's friend, he'd offered to get man out…and promptly gotten captured as well.

Which was why he and Jack's friend were now tunneling under the camp, trying to get out, "Doctor!" Jack's friend called up through a hole they'd dug to get their bearings, "Doctor what can you see?"

He dropped down from the hole, looking upside down at the man, "Is the commandant's office painted a sort of green color with a big flag on the wall?" alarms started to blare, "I think the answer's probably yes."

Suddenly he was yanked up through the hole by soldiers following the commandant's commands to seize the prisoner.

Yes…Evy was going to kill him…

~8~

Amy finished reading about the Doctor's brief stint as a POW, learning that the next day a blonde woman had shown up and somehow managed to convince the German commander to give up, not only the Doctor and the man he was trying to free, but the other POWs as well…something about idiot being contagious…

Amy closed the book as she leaned into Rory's arms, the two of them lying on the sofa with a movie on, "It's like he's being deliberately ridiculous," Amy commented.

"Evy must be ready to kill him," Rory smirked.

"He's got to stop trying to attract our attention…" Amy began when Rory laughed at the movie and she looked over at it, "Are you watching this again?"

"Yeah, I've explained the jokes…" he said as the doorbell rang. He loved watching old Laurel and Hardy's films, 'Sons of the Desert' was his favorite. Amy just rolled her eyes and got up to answer the door, "So what are you saying?" he called so she could hear him from the front of the house, "You really think he's back there, trying to wave to us out of history books?" he looked down at the book, not noticing the Doctor appear in the movie, wearing a fez and waving, before running over to the lineup, dancing…until a slightly amused, slightly resigned blonde woman dragged him away.

"It's the sort of thing he'd do," Amy called back.

"Yeah but why? If you were pregnant I wouldn't be trying to get myself into situations like that, I'd want to be with you."

"I doubt he's TRYING to get himself into trouble. That usually just...happens. And Evy said it would take more than a year before the baby's born..."

"I mean, I wouldn't want anything to happen to me…and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you trying to help me."

"They'll be fine. Evy's had loads of experience getting the Doctor out of tricky spots. And I doubt she'd let him go if she didn't know he would be ok in the end."

"I don't see why he has to try and be so obvious though."

"Well, they said they'd be in touch," Amy walked into the room as she sorted through the mail.

"Two months ago."

"Two months is nothing," Amy remarked, opening a dark blue envelope, "He's up to something, which means Evy's in on it too. I know they are. I know them," she pulled out a white paper.

22/04/2011

16:30 MDT

378-08-388* N, 1108-148-348* W

"What is it?" Rory asked, looking up as Amy was silent, "Amy?"

Amy walked forward, her eyes still glued to the note, "A date, a time, a map reference. I think it's an invitation."

"From who?"

"It's not signed, look," she held it up for him to see, "Card is blue," and it wasn't just any blue, it was TARDIS blue. She tossed it onto the table.

~8~

A yellow school bus pulled up in the desert, Amy and Rory getting out, "Thanks!" Amy called back to the driver.

"You're welcome!" he called, before pulling away and continuing on.

"This is it yeah?" Amy asked, looking around, shifting the weight of the large pack on her back, "Right place?"

"Uh, nowhere, middle of," Rory squinted against the sun, "Yeah, this is it."

Neither of them noticed the Doctor stretched out on a red car behind them, wearing a cowboy hat until…

"Howdy!" he shouted.

Amy spun around, grinning widely at the sight of him, "Doctor!"

He laughed, jumping off the car, "It's the Ponds!" he pulled Amy into a tight hug, "Pond One and Pond Two!"

"Hey!" Amy greeted as she hugged him back.

"Hello Ponds!" he laughed.

"So someone's been a busy boy then eh?"

"Did you see me?"

"Of course! Stalker!"

"Flirt."

"Husband," Rory said.

The Doctor turned and threw his arms around Rory as well, "And Rory the Roman! Come here!"

Rory hugged the Doctor back, pulling away to point at the hat he was wearing, "Hey, nice hat."

"I wear a Stetson now," the Doctor said, smirking, "Stetson's are cool."

Suddenly the hat was blown off his head by a gunshot. They looked over to see none other than River Song standing there, blowing on the end of her gun before putting it in its holster, "Hello sweetie," she grinned.

Amy laughed at the typical greeting before looking around, "Where's the TARDIS?"

The Doctor just patted the car, "Trying out a new look, like it?"

"How? I thought that thingy that makes it change was broke?"

"Evy fixed it," he said automatically, before his smile faded.

"Where is Evy anyway?" Rory asked, looking around, wondering where she was.

"Not coming."

"What?" Amy frowned, "You two have a fight or something?"

"Or something," he said before quickly, continuing, "Look she just can't make it. Sends her love but she's not here ok?"

"Ok, ok," Amy stepped back, holding up her hands in surrender. She shot River a slightly confused look but the woman seemed just as confused by Evy's lack of appearance as she was.

~8~

They were in a little roadside diner, Amy and Rory at the counter getting food, while the Doctor and River sat across from each other in the booth, both flipping through their diaries, "Right then where are we?" River asked, "Have we done Easter Island yet?"

"Uh…" he Doctor flipped through a few pages, "Yes! I've got Easter Island."

"They worshiped you and Evy there," River smiled in reminiscence, thinking back to an adventure she'd shared with not only Evy and the Doctor, but Amy and Rory as well. Having the two there made her curious where she was in their timeline as well, "Remember how they wanted to sculpt Evy but she insisted they just do your head? Have you seen the statues?"

"Jim the Fish," he cut in quickly, though River noticed a slight flinch when she'd mentioned Evy.

She frowned but, as the Doctor looked up, quickly put on an excited face, "Oh, Jim the Fish, how is he?"

"Still building his dam," he replied, scooting over for Amy to sit next to him as River did the same for Rory.

"Sorry, what are you two doing?" Rory asked, glancing at the books in their hands.

"They're both time travelers," Amy explained, "But they never meet in the right order. They're syncing their diaries. So what's happening then? 'Cos you've been up to something."

The Doctor was silent a moment before speaking, "I've been running, faster than I've ever run. And I've been running my whole life. This last trek I've had Evy with me but…" he swallowed hard, "Now it's time for me to stop. And tonight I'm going to need you all with me."

Amy frowned, there was a sinking feeling in her stomach at how he was talking, "Ok, we're here, what's up?"

"Picnic. And then a trip. Somewhere different, somewhere...brand new."

"Where?"

"Space," he smiled, though even Rory could see that it was tired and slightly forced, "1969."

~8~

Sitting at a beautiful lake, with the moon full in the afternoon sky, one would think the group of four sitting on picnic blankets, a red car parked a few feet behind them, wouldn't have a care in the world…oh how wrong they would be.

"Salute!" the Doctor toasted as they clinked their wine glasses together.

"Salute!" they all replied.

"So when are we going to 1969?" Rory asked.

"And since when do you drink wine?" Amy eyed the bottle in the Doctor's hand.

"I've travelled everywhere," he replied, "I must have drunk it some time."

"Oh you did," Amy smirked, "Remember? When you and Evy got trapped at Craig's? Evy told me you spit your wine back into the glass because you hated it."

"Well, I'm 1103 now, I'm sure my tastes have changed since then," he shot back, taking a swig of the wine, only to spit it out on the ground to his right, "Ew! Why that's _horrid_. I thought it would taste more like the gums."

"1103?" Amy frowned, "You were 908 last time we saw you."

"And you've put on a couple of pounds. I wasn't going to mention it…"

Amy rolled her eyes at him and looked out at the beautiful landscape…only for something to catch her eye, an alien form, standing outlined against the sun, "Who's that?"

"Hmm?" Rory turned to Amy, "What do you see?"

Amy looked down at him, "Sorry what?"

The Doctor looked up at her.

"What did you see?" Rory repeated, "You said you saw something."

"No I didn't," Amy argued, taking a sip of her wine.

"Ah, the moon," the Doctor said, stopping more questions, "Look at it! Of course you lot did a lot more than look didn't you? Big silvery thing in the sky, you couldn't resist it…" the smile he had that had slowly been fading was now a frown as he thought back to another moon in his life, "Quite right…"

"The moon landing was in '69," Rory turned to him, "Is _that_ where we're going?"

"No. A lot more happens in '69 than anyone remembers. Human beings…I thought I'd never get done saving you…"

Just then a car rolled up behind them. They all looked back, the Doctor standing, as an old man stepped out. He lifted his hand in greeting as the man waved back, before slowly lowering his arm once more, looking resigned and tired.

"Who's he?" Amy asked.

River stood, looking at the lake, as Rory stood too, "Oh my God," she breathed, drawing their attention. Amy rose to her feet, seeing an astronaut standing, knee deep, in the water.

"You all need to stay back," the Doctor warned them, taking a few steps forward, "Whatever happens now, you do _not_ interfere. Clear?" he looked back at them a moment before walking over to the astronaut as they watched.

"That's an astronaut," Rory whispered to Amy, "That's an Apollo astronaut in the lake."

"Yeah," she breathed, her attention focused on the Doctor.

The Doctor walked up to the astronaut, his hand fishing in his pocket for something while seeming unable to look the being in the face, "Hello, it's ok, I know it's you…" the astronaut lifted its visor, "Well then…"

Amy blinked against the sun as they watched the Doctor talk to the astronaut, she frowned as he gestured to the astronaut's hand and looked down, preparing himself, as the astronaut raised an arm, "What's he doing?" she asked.

Suddenly the astronaut fired, shooting him.

"No!" she screamed as she tried to run to the Doctor's side.

"Amy no!" River called as she and Rory ran forward to grab her and hold her back, "Stay back!"

The astronaut fired once more.

"The Doctor said to stay back!" River struggled.

"No!" Amy screamed as the Doctor fell to the ground.

"We have to stay back!"

They watched, helpless, as the Doctor stumbled to his feet, his hands glowing golden-orange, he was regenerating.

"Doctor!" Amy called.

He could only look over at them, "I'm sorry," he said as his face began to glow as well. He threw his arms out to the side, the regeneration taking hold…

When the astronaut shot him one final time.

The golden-orange light immediately faded and he fell to the ground, unmoving.

"No!" this time it was River who screamed and ran forward.

"Doctor!" Amy followed. They ran to his side as the astronaut turned and walked back into the lake, "Doctor please!" Amy begged as she dropped to her knees beside him. Rory leapt over him, watching as the astronaut left before turning to the girls. River was knelt next to Amy, holding a small device to monitor the Doctor, "River…" she begged the older woman, "River!" there was a flat-line sound. Amy looked at River who just looked stunned, "No, no!"

River stood up and began firing her gun at the astronaut, but was unable to harm it. When her gun ran out of bullets she stared a moment at the disappearing form before muttering to herself, "Of course not…" bullets rarely ever helped against something alien.

The old man walked closer to them, a tank of gas in his hand, as River turned around to look at Amy, sitting beside the Doctor, "River he can't be dead," Amy wept, "This isn't possible."

"Whatever that was, it killed him in the middle of his regeneration cycle," River remarked, kneeling down, "His body was already dead. He didn't make it to the next one."

"Maybe he's a clone or a duplicate or something."

"Maybe I can save you some time," the old man spoke, taking off his hat, "That most certainly is the Doctor and he is most certainly dead," he looked down, at the slightly smiling form of the Doctor, before turning to River, "He said you'd need this," he placed the gas can at the Doctor's feet.

"Gasoline?" Rory asked.

"A Time Lord's body is a miracle," River explained, "Even a dead one. There are whole empires out there that would rip this world apart for just one cell," she stood up, "We can't leave him there. Or anywhere."

"Wake up!" Amy begged, leaning over the Doctor, "Come on, wake up! You bloody idiot! What about Evy? What about her? You can't leave her!" but the Doctor made no reply. Amy put her head on his chest and cried, "Why would he _do_ this?"

"What's that?" Rory asked, spotting something. There had been a second where the light had caught on something metallic in the Doctor's hands.

River knelt down and reached forward, gasping as she held up Evy's medallion with the Seal of Rassilon on it.

Amy shook her head, the implication of what it could mean, of why the Doctor had been so resigned, so willing to die, hit her…Evy _never_ took that necklace off…which had to mean…she shook her head, unwilling to believe that both her 'imaginary' friends were dead.

"What do we do Rory?" she looked up at her husband.

"We're his friends," River said, "We do what the Doctor's friends always do," she picked up the gas can, "As we're told."

"There's a boat," Rory said as he spotted an old one on the shore, "If we're gonna do this, let's do it properly."

~8~

They stood that night, watching as the Doctor's body drifted out onto the lake, the boat slowly engulfed in flames. Rory stood half in the water from where he'd pushed the boat off, paying his respects to the man. Amy stood on the shore, hugging herself as she watched her friend burn. River stood farther back, next to the old man, Evy's medallion clutched in her hand as she made a silent vow to kill whatever it was that had led to all this.

Rory turned and walked out of the water, over to Amy, hugging her as she cried.

"Who are you?" River asked the old man, her gaze still on the Doctor's burning form, "Why did you come?"

"Same reason as you," he replied, pulling out his own blue envelope for River to see. Amy and Rory watched as River pulled out her envelope and held it beside his, scarcely believing it, "Dr. Song," he greeted, before glancing over at the Ponds, "Amy. Rory. I'm Canton Everett Delaware III. I won't be seeing you again, but you'll be seeing me," he put his hat back on and turned to go, taking the empty gas can with him.

River watched him walk for a moment before spinning to Amy and Rory, her eyes wide, "Four."

"Sorry, what?" Rory shook his head.

"The Doctor numbered the envelopes."

~8~

Back in the diner, River was finishing up her thoughts on the matter, "You got three, I was two, Mr. Delaware was four."

"So?" Rory asked, still not following.

"So, where's one?"

"What, you think he invited someone else?" Rory continued as they walked past a stunned Amy, who had stopped at the booth they'd been sitting in just hours ago.

"Well he _must_ have. He planned all of this to the last detail."

"Will you two shut up?" Amy asked quietly, "It doesn't matter."

"He was up to something," River said, unaware she'd echoed Amy's earlier words.

"He's dead," Amy added, but neither Rory nor River seemed to hear her.

"Space, 1969. What did he mean?"

"You're still talking, but it doesn't matter," Amy said, louder this time.

"Hey, it mattered to him," Rory stepped over to her.

"So it matters to us," River finished.

"He's _dead_ ," she whispered, not wanting to say it out loud.

"But he still needs us," River argued, stepping over to the distraught girl, "I know, Amy, I know. But right now we have to focus."

"Look!" Rory exclaimed. They looked up to see him looking at a table in the back, a TARDIS blue envelope sitting there, next to an open bottle of soda. River ran over to it as Rory turned to the man at the counter, "Excuse me, who was sitting over there?"

"Some guy…" the counter boy shrugged.

River turned to them, "The Doctor knew he was going to his death, so he sent out messages. When you know it's the end, who do you call?"

"Your friends, people you trust," Rory answered off the top of his head as Amy walked over.

River held up the envelope from the table, "Number one. Who did the Doctor trust the most?"

Just then the door behind her, with a large painted Elvis on it, opened and the Doctor walked in with a straw in his mouth. He smiled, seeing them, though they were stunned, even as he pointed at them in greeting.

"This is _cold_ ," River stared at him, her mouth in a firm line, "Even by your standards, this is _cold_."

"Or hello, as people used to say," the Doctor grinned.

"Doctor?" Amy breathed.

"Just popped out to get my special straw," he smiled, holding up the straw, "It adds more fizz."

"Which you _don't_ need," a voice said behind him. The door opened and Evy stepped out as well, "Your head's full of enough fizz I think."

He just smiled and draped his arm around her, "You love my fizz, admit it."

"You're lucky I do," she smiled, giving him a peck on the cheek, making him beam.

Amy walked up to them, stunned. The look on her face, as though she were either seeing a ghost or recalling a nightmare, was enough to give them pause. She slowly walked around them, eyeing them closely, the Doctor turned with her, taking Evy with him. Amy reached out, touching the Doctor's bow-tie.

"You're ok, you're both ok," she whispered, "How can you be ok?"

The Doctor glanced at Evy, who frowned at the fear in Amy's voice, "Hey, of course we're ok," he said, gently hugging her, "We're _always_ ok. We're the king and queen of ok."

"You couldn't have thought of a better title?" Evy joked, earning a slight laugh from Amy.

"Right," he agreed, "Forget that title…Rory the Roman!" he shouted, letting go of Amy, who was now fully hugged by Evy, as the Doctor made his way over to Rory, hugging him as well, "That's a _good_ title! Hello Rory!"

Rory started to hug back but just looked stunned and confused. Evy frowned as she saw that and moved to hug Rory when the Doctor let him go, "Everything alright Rory?" she asked.

"I think…" he whispered back, hugging her.

"And Dr. River Song!" the Doctor turned to her and walked to stand before the woman as Evy turned to watch, "Oh, you bad, bad girl, what trouble have you got for us this time?"

River slapped him, hard.

The Doctor spun around a bit, rubbing his jaw as Evy winced and rubbed her own as well.

"Sorry Evy," River muttered, though the glare she was sending the Doctor didn't lighten up at all.

"Ok…" he massaged his jaw and turned to face the woman, "I'm sure that's for something I haven't done yet…"

"Yes it is," she replied tensely.

"Good. I'm looking forward to it."

"I don't understand," Rory said suddenly, drawing the Doctor and Evy's attention, "How can you be here?" Evy smiled as Rory poked the Doctor in the chest, much like the Doctor had when they'd discovered Rory the Roman after he'd been erased from the Universe.

"We were invited," the Doctor said, taking the envelope from River and walking over to lean against the counter by Evy.

"There's a date, a map reference..." Evy nodded, looking at the card, "Probably the same as you."

"We'd assume otherwise, but it's a hell of a coincidence."

Amy shook her head and turned to River, "River what's going on?"

"Amy ask the Doctor what age he is," River said urgently.

"That's a bit personal," the Doctor said, sticking the straw in his mouth. Evy rolled her eyes and moved to snatch it from him but he leaned back, smirking at her in triumph. She could only shake her head at him.

"Tell her," River insisted, "Tell her what age you are."

"909," the Doctor answered, pulling the straw out of his mouth, "Evy's 885. Why?"

"But you said…" Amy began.

"So where does that leave us huh?" River demanded, cutting Amy off, inadvertently keeping her from telling the Doctor and Evy what had happened, "Jim the Fish? Have we done Jim the Fish yet?"

"Who's Jim the Fish?" the Doctor asked.

"What did we say?" Evy frowned at Amy, confused.

"I don't understand," Amy shook her head, tears in her eyes again.

"Yeah, you do…" Rory stated, stepping next to his wife and putting an arm around her.

" _I_ don't," the Doctor cut in, "And neither does Evy, and that's something. What are we all doing here?"

River looked at Amy and Rory, the three of them exchanging looks that didn't go unnoticed by the Doctor or Evy. Slowly River began speaking, "We've been…recruited, something to do with space, 1969…" she kept her eyes on Amy and Rory, sending them meaningful looks as the Doctor turned and walked away, not at all happy with the obvious fact that they were keeping something from them. Evy just pushed herself to sit on one of the barstools, "And a man called Canton Everett Delaware III."

"Recruited by who?" he asked, chewing on his straw.

"Someone who trusts you more than anybody else in the Universe."

The Doctor turned and looked over at Evy. Her eyes widened at his implication and she held up her hands, "Oh, I do…but it wasn't me. You know that."

He nodded, feeling her confusion. He pulled the straw out of his mouth and turned to River, "Who is it then?"

"Spoilers," was all she said.

"You know," Evy said, as the Doctor put the straw in his mouth, not happy, "I'm really starting to hate that word," she hopped off the stool as the Doctor walked past her and placed his arm around her effortlessly, the two of them walking towards the TARDIS hidden in the back room, not seeing the looks River, Rory, and Amy exchanged behind their backs.

~8~

The Doctor was running around the console, flicking random controls as River watched him, Amy leaning against the railing while Rory stood back against another set of railings. Evy was sitting on the jump seat, watching the Doctor carefully to make sure he wouldn't blow anything up. Normally she would be up there, running around and helping him but as he wasn't planning on actually going anywhere yet, she'd continue to sit till she needed to get up and help pilot and land the TARDIS.

"1969, that's an easy one," the Doctor was rambling, but it was the type of rambling Evy knew he only did when he was frustrated or angry or trying to hide his feelings and thoughts from his companions, and right now he was very sad and disappointed and worried that they were keeping something from him, "Funny how some years are easy," he stopped running around to lean by Amy, "Now, 1483, full of glitches."

"And whose fault is that?" Evy smirked lightly.

"Donna's," he replied quickly, "I told you we should have never tried to teach her to pilot the TARDIS."

"Says the man who put a dent in the 1980s?" Evy lifted an eyebrow.

The Doctor pointed at her like he was going to say something but just turned back to the console "Now then," he began as Amy turned around and walked away, down the stairs to sit under the glass floor. Evy frowned, watching her go, silently telling the Doctor as well though he didn't let on, "Canton Everett Delaware III. That was his name yeah?" he ran around the console till he ended up by River, "How many of those can there be?"

"Three," Evy answered for him, smiling, as he turned back to the console.

River just walked past him and down the stairs to join Amy. Both the Doctor and Evy watched her go before the Doctor turned to Rory, "Rory, is everybody cross with me for some reason?"

"I'll find out," Rory said, before heading down the stairs too.

The Doctor watched Rory go, already knowing that Rory knew what was wrong but didn't know what to say. He didn't like the fact that his companions were keeping secrets from him. It just reminded him of a time where another very large secret had been kept from him…

A hand rested on his shoulder. He turned to see Evy standing beside him, offering him a small, though sad, smile. She dropped her hand, trailing it down his arm to his hand, pulling him more to her as she gave him a comforting hug.

Whatever was going on they would figure it out eventually.

~8~

Rory walked down the stairs just as Amy was speaking quietly to River, "Explain it again," Amy looked up at the woman from her position sitting on the floor.

"The Doctor we saw on the beach was a future version," River said quietly, "200 years older than the one up there."

"But all that's still gona happen. He's still going to die."

"We're all going to do that Amy."

"We're NOT all going to arrange our own suicidal wake and invite ourselves," Rory commented, stepping forward to stand by River, trying to ignore how Amy had flinched at the mention of suicide, the man on the beach had been too willing to let that astronaut kill him for them to think otherwise, "So, the Doctor, in the future, planning that he's going to die, recruits his younger self and all of us to...to what, exactly? Avenge him?"

River shook her head, "Avenging's not his style."

"Save him?" Amy suggested.

River sighed, "He was far too willing and ready to die."

"Save Evy then?" Rory tried. They had already figured that something must have happened to Evy for the Doctor to go so far as to be _that_ willing to die, to not do anything, to not take into consideration what would happen to Evy upon his death. How could something happen to Evy if Evy was already gone?

"But how did he even make it?" Amy shook her head. The Evy they had seen in the Dream Lord's world had fallen apart when she thought the Doctor had died. The physical and mental pain she'd been in...Amy had had nightmares for weeks after.

"Evy always claimed," River swallowed hard, "That the Doctor was stronger than her."

That was the only explanation she could come up with about how the Doctor had managed to keep himself together long enough, how he could act so carefree about it, hide and control the pain. It had to have been recent, enough where the full impact hadn't hit yet. It also had to have been hard, she'd seen the Doctor acting many times, and he'd never slipped up as often as he had before the astronaut came. The snapping, the flinching, he must have been desperately trying to hide it from them…

"Well we have to tell them," Amy said, getting up.

"We've told them all we can," River shook her head, "And we have to be extremely careful about, not just our words, but our thoughts from here on out."

"Why?" Rory frowned.

"While Evy is much better at projecting her thoughts, she _can_ still read ours with effort. Thankfully she doesn't like to do it often, invasion of privacy and all, but if the Doctor gets too curious he may ask her to take a peek. And we _can't_ let that happen. We can't even let them know we've seen his future self. He's interacting with Evy's past, with his own past. It could rip a hole in the Universe."

"Except they've done it before," Amy argued.

"And in fairness," Rory commented, "The Universe _did_ blow up."

"They'd _want_ to know."

"Would he?" River countered, "Would anyone?" Amy was silent a moment before River continued, "And if something truly did happen to Evy…he'd go mad with worry before he could even help her…"

"I'm being extremely clever up here," the Doctor's head suddenly dropped down from the glass floor to look at them, upside down, "As is Evy and there's no one to stand around looking impressed. What's the point in having you all?" he pulled himself back up.

River let out a breath of relief, he hadn't heard her, before turning to Amy and Rory, "Couldn't you just slap him sometimes?"

A moment later there was a smack resounding from above them followed by an "Ow!" from the Doctor and a "Be nice!" from Evy.

River smiled, "God I love that girl."

"River we _can't_ just let them _die_ ," Amy said quietly, "We have to stop it," River looked back at her, "How can you be ok with this?"

"The Doctor's death doesn't frighten me, nor does Evy's or my own. There's a far worse day coming for me."

And with that, she turned and walked back up the stairs, Rory and a reluctant Amy following after.

"Time isn't a straight line," they heard the Doctor say as they stepped up, "It's all bumpy wumpy…"

"Like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff?" Evy joked, laughing.

The Doctor grinned broadly at the words before continuing, "There's loads of boring stuff like Sundays…"

"And Tuesdays," Evy added, having discovered her own distaste of the day, much like the Doctor and his Sundays. It was the worst day, in her opinion. It wasn't a weekend, it wasn't the start of the week, it wasn't a week that was halfway over, or nearly a Friday. It was just...a Tuesday...

"And…" he added, getting annoyed as he grabbed a lever, "Thursday afternoons," he nearly spat as though the words themselves were evil. It had been a Thursday afternoon when they'd met Casanova. He flipped the lever down, "But now and then there are _Saturdays_! Big temporal tipping points where…" he ran around the controls, past River, coming to lean on the console to her left as Evy stood on the woman's right, "Anything is possible. TARDIS can't resist them, like a moth to a flame…"

"Right," Evy snorted, "The _TARDIS_ is the one that can't resist them."

"Quite right," he agreed, not having noticed her slight jibe, "She loves a party," he told River, "So I give her 1969 and NASA, 'cos that's space in the 60s…" he walked off, around the console again, "And Canton Everett Delaware III and this…" he typed on a small keypad, "Is where she's pointing!" he flicked on the monitor as Amy, Rory, and River crowded around him. Evy just leaned on the railing behind them, still able to see the screen, crossing her arms.

"Washington D.C.," Amy read, "April the 8th, 1969? So why haven't we landed?"

"Because we're not going there," Evy answered as the Doctor flicked something on the console.

"Why?" Rory looked at her, "Where are we going?"

"Home!" the Doctor exclaimed, spinning to face Amy and Rory, "We'll you two are. Off you pop and make babies. And you Dr. Song…" he turned to walk past the woman, "Back to prison," he continued on, taking Evy's hand as he passed her, and walking to the other side of the console, "And us! We're late…" he hit a button, "For a biplane lesson in 1911!"

"Knitting," Evy corrected, "It's a knitting lesson."

"Knitting or biplanes, one or the other," he shrugged as he plopped down on the jump seat, putting a hand over his eyes as he hunched over, Evy placing a hand on his shoulder, sensing his distress about the situation finally getting to him. She looked up as Amy, Rory, and River walked over to stand around him. The Doctor dropped his hand and looked up at them, "What?" he asked them, "A mysterious summons, you think we're just going to go?" he let out a scoffing laugh, "Not knowing what it is? Who it's from? If it's dangerous? You _really_ think I'd take that chance?"

"Since when do you not?" River asked in what was meant to be a joking fashion, however the Doctor just glared at her.

Instead of answering, he tugged Evy down into his lap, wrapping his arms around her, placing his hands protectively over her stomach.

River eyed the action before her eyes widened with realization, "You're pregnant," she breathed, "This is when you're pregnant with…" she quickly cut herself off.

"With?" Evy asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Spoilers," River smirked.

"Boy or girl? At least give us that!"

River just shook her head.

"You don't know what it is?" Amy frowned, Evy looked along enough to know by now. In Earth terms, she looked nearly three months, but, knowing what Evy had told Martha, she was probably in her 6th month.

"Tradition," Evy replied, sighing, as she leaned back into the Doctor's arms, "We're not to know till the baby's born."

"Hence the reason I won't tell you," River smiled. She should have _known_ right away that Evy was expecting. Her stomach was slightly more bulging and, while Evy was still dressed in her typical style for this incarnation of herself, her black jacket was a bit looser and her pink shirt a bit larger to hide the swell of her stomach. If she hadn't been looking, she wouldn't have been able to tell Evy was pregnant.

"Hence the reason I'm being extra careful," the Doctor continued, slightly mocking River, before growing more serious, "Who sent those messages?" he asked, looking over each of them, "I _know_ you know, I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't ever, _ever_ think you're capable of that. Only one person has ever..." he cut himself off, his jaw tensing slightly.

"I'm sorry for that," Evy whispered, pecking him on the cheek, " _So_ sorry."

He just smiled lightly at her, showing her he knew she was sorry, that he forgave her. Of all the people he knew and had encountered, she was the only one who had been able to trick him for so long, keep him in the dark so long. Had she not regenerated, he probably wouldn't have figured out she was a Time Lady till she told him. He hadn't been looking for one, and there had been one right in front of him.

"You're going to have to trust us this time," River said, breaking through his thoughts.

He looked up at her sharply, his face set, "Trust _you_? Sure…" he scoffed as Evy stood, allowing him to get up and walk over to the woman, "But first of all, Dr. Song, just one thing. Who are you?"

"We know you're someone from the future," Evy added, "From our future. But who? And who are you to us?"

River was silent.

"Ok," he eyed her, "Why are you in prison? Who did you kill? Hmm? Now I love a bad girl, me, but I've got Evy and since I don't know who you are or who you'll kill, you _really_ think I'd trust you? With _my Link_? Seriously?"

Evy frowned, seeing that River looked almost near tears at the Doctor's lack of trust in her, but before she could comment or tell the Doctor to back down, Amy spoke.

"Trust me," the ginger said, taking a step forward.

The Doctor looked at River a moment longer, before turning to Amy, "Ok," he said and walked to stand before the girl.

Evy however kept her eyes on River, not missing the woman swipe beneath her eye quickly before turning to Amy as well.

"You have to do this and you can't ask why," Amy said to the Doctor.

"Are you being threatened?" the Doctor asked her seriously, "Is someone making you say that?"

"No."

"Are you lying?" Evy stepped up, equally as concerned for her friend as the Doctor was.

"I'm not lying."

"Swear to us," the Doctor cut in, "Swear on something that matters."

Amy looked between him and Evy a moment before nodding to herself, "Apples, fish fingers, and custard."

The Doctor couldn't help but start to smile at that memory, his and Evy's first mutual regeneration, his changing tastes and Evy's newly discovered love of apples, the day they met Amy.

"Our lives in your hands," the Doctor told her quietly, "Amelia Pond."

Amy looked down as the Doctor stepped away and over to Evy, taking her hand and leading her around the console to prepare.

"Thank you," River breathed to Amy, who couldn't even lift her head. Rory just put a hand on Amy's shoulder to comfort her.

"So!" the Doctor shouted, beginning his run around the console again, "Canton Everett Delaware III! Who's he?"

"Bringing it up now," Evy smiled, shifting the monitor to another keypad and typing, reading the information that appeared along with River and the Doctor, Amy and Rory standing a small ways away.

"Ex-FBI got kicked out," River read.

"Why?" the Doctor frowned.

"'Attitude problems,'" Evy replied.

"You would fit in there well," the Doctor smirked at her.

"Oi!" Evy smacked him over the head.

"You see!" he exclaimed, as though her action proved it.

"Watch it you," she pointed at him warningly, though the spark in her eye only made him laugh.

"If you two children are done?" River smiled at their playfulness, "Six weeks after he left the bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting."

"Yeah 1969," the Doctor nodded, getting back to task, "Who's President?"

"Frosty's 'best friend,'" Evy joked, nudging the Doctor, "Nixon."

"Vietnam," River nodded, reading, "Watergate, there's some good stuff too…"

"But not enough," the Doctor mumbled.

"Definitely not," Evy agreed.

"Hippies!" River scolded.

"Archaeologist," they both just countered.

~8~

"Ok!" the Doctor shouted as he finished setting the TARDIS up to the right coordinates, "Since we don't know what we're getting into, this time, for once, I'm being discreet," he ran around the console, flicking levers and pushing buttons.

Amy leaned over from where she was standing on Evy's right, River on the left of the Time Lady, "How did you get him to agree to being careful again?"

Evy rubbed her stomach, "I just said I wanted our child to know who his or her father was."

She didn't notice Amy tense at the words, the girl's mind already replaying the astronaut shooting the Doctor. In that moment she understood what River was talking about. She didn't want Evy to know that the Doctor was going to die, nor did she want to tell the woman she might possibly have already been dead at that point. Because that would mean their child was either dead or an orphan…

River just smiled to herself, she recalled the stories of Evy and the Doctor when Evy was pregnant, he actually seemed to be more cautious than normal. He kept going gallivanting off to distant lands and times, but never anything that could seriously get him killed, and, if he got stuck, Evy had an uncanny ability to get him out of it, though it was probably due to the Link telling her when he needed help.

"Got through to him pretty good, don't you think?" Evy smiled as they watched the Doctor.

"Putting the engines on silent!" he called.

"Oh yeah," Amy agreed. She never thought she'd _ever_ see the day when the Doctor actually wanted the TARDIS not to make 'the noise,' as he loved to call it.

The Doctor tossed a lever that just made the noise louder.

Amy and Rory covered their ears as River and Evy rolled their eyes, both pushing off the railing and heading to the console. River walked over to where the Doctor had just been standing, she looked over at Evy, smirking, before she pushed the lever back down, quieting the engines as Evy returned the smirk and twisted a knob, silencing them completely.

The Doctor appeared around the other side of them, "Did you do something?" he asked, looking between the women.

"No…" River answered quickly, "Just…watching."

The Doctor looked at her a moment before turning back to the console, "Putting the outer shell on invisible."

"Oh, been ages since we did that," Evy smiled in thought.

"Big drain on the power," he remarked offhandedly.

"You can turn the TARDIS invisible?" Rory asked, thinking of other times where that would have been useful.

The Doctor just grinned and flipped a switch, causing lights to blare through the windows, nearly blinding them all.

Amy and Rory flinched back, hands raised to block the light, while River leaned over and flipped the switch back down, "Very nearly," she replied as Evy tapped something in the keypad and the lights outside went dark.

"Did you touch something?" the Doctor appeared again.

River shook her head, "Just admiring your skills sweetie."

The Doctor glanced over at Evy, sensing amusement filtering through the Link. She was just smiling and shaking her head, whether at him or River he didn't know. He shook his head, he'd find out later. He turned to River, "Good…you might learn something…"

River smirked back at the others and Evy couldn't help but laugh. River had once said that she learned how to pilot the TARDIS from her, and that the only thing the Doctor helped teach her was what _not_ to do. She could certainly understand that now.

The Doctor turned back to the console once more, "Ok!" he tapped a button on the monitor, before hitting it as it didn't work, "Now I…can't get the scanner…it doesn't work when we're cloaked…um…just give us a mo…"

He made a break for the door when Evy grabbed his arm, spinning him around, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Um…"

"Without me?" she added, sensing he'd been trying to get out there before her.

While he was trying to make the trips safer, he tended to try and check things out first…which tended to end up with him in some sort of trouble that she would just have to get him out of. It was endearing and endlessly sweet that he was trying to watch out for her and the baby like that, but she firmly maintained that, just because she happened to be pregnant, it was not going to stop her from standing at his side.

"Right," he smiled, sensing her thoughts. He took her hand and they both ran to the door when the Doctor suddenly spun around, holding out his hands, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Amy, Rory, and River, who had been about to follow, stopped and looked at him, "You lot…wait. We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth…" he looked back as Evy opened the door, "Let's take this slow."

She stepped through the door, followed quickly by the Doctor, who shut it behind him and nearly walked into Evy's back. He stopped short, much like she had, to look around in awe at the room they now stood in, the Oval Office of the White House.

Evy nudged him and he looked at her, she nodded towards the main desk. There was a man standing, staring out a large window, with another man seated at the desk, both with their backs to the Time Lords.

There was a tape recorder playing on the desk, playing back the sound of a phone ringing, "Hello?" a man answered on the recording, "Who is this? This is President Nixon. Who's calling? Is this you again?"

The Doctor looked at Evy, nodding, as they both began to creep forward.

"Mr. President?" a voice said on the recoding, a child's voice.

Evy froze, her hand immediately falling onto her stomach as the Doctor took her other hand.

"A child," the man in the seat said, echoing their thoughts.

"This is the President," the recording continued, "Yes."

"I'm scared Mr. President," the child whimpered, "I'm scared of the spacemen."

"A little girl," the man added.

"Boy," the man at the window corrected.

"How can you be sure?" the seated man asked.

"What spaceman?" the recording went on, "Where are you calling from?" Evy glanced over to see the Doctor pulling out a pen and paper from his pocket and jotting down notes. "Where are you right now? Who are you?"

There was a pause before the child spoke again, "Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton."

' _Jefferson…Adams…_ ' Evy heard in her mind, ' _What was that last one?_ '

' _Hamilton,_ ' she replied, her attention focused on the men.

' _Thanks love,_ ' he smiled at her quickly before getting back to his notes.

"Jefferson, listen to me…" the recording abruptly ended.

"Surely this is something the bureau could handle sir," the seated man began.

"These calls happen wherever I am," the man at the window, who they now realized was the President, said, "How do I know the bureau isn't involved?" both Evy and the Doctor nodded at that reasoning, "I can't trust anyone…" Nixon continued, turning around, only to stop when he saw the man and woman standing in his office. The seated man, seeing the look on the President's face, quickly stood up and spun to face them as well.

Evy nudged the Doctor as he was still writing, and he looked up…only to motion for them to continue and got back to his notes. Evy placed a hand on her face and shook her head at her Link's obliviousness… _this_ was how he ended up in trouble.

Sensing Evy's thoughts, he looked up once more, just now realizing the seriousness of the situation, "Oh!" he exclaimed, smiling, "Hello! Bad moment…" he held up his hands before starting to walk back, his right hand taking hold of Evy's and pulling her back with him, "Oh look," he said to Evy as they moved back, "This is the _Oval_ _Office_!" he turned back to the two men, "We were looking for the uh…"

"Ouch," Evy mumbled as the Doctor led her straight back and into a lamp. She quickly grabbed it, catching it before it fell off a small table.

"Oblong Room…" the Doctor finished, his gaze on Evy, making sure she was ok.

Evy looked over to see the President push a security button, "We'll just be off then…" she tried to smile as she pushed her way around the small table, "Shall we?" she looked at the Doctor meaningfully.

"Of course," he nodded, turning...only to walk straight into the invisible TARDIS.

Evy winced as he fell to the ground.

~8~

Inside the TARDIS Amy, Rory, and River were jolted as the box shook from the force of the hit.

"Every time…" River mumbled, walking to the console.

~8~

"Every time," Evy breathed, shaking her head at the Doctor who simply popped back up, rubbing the side of his head.

"Don't worry!" he called, mostly to those inside the TARDIS than anyone in the room, "It always does that when it's cloaked…"

"Doctor!" Evy shouted.

He was about to turn around when the seated man, Canton, came up behind him and grabbed him around the chest and arms, pulling down to the ground. Evy ran to his side when the Doctor suddenly shouted up at her, "No!"

' _Stay back,_ ' he added to her silently, ' _Try and get back in the TARDIS!_ '

' _Not without you!_ ' she argued, glancing at where she could vaguely see the outline of the box.

"Stop that!" he called as Canton forced his arms behind him.

' _Luna,_ ' he said, getting her to pause, he never used her true name unless he was serious, ' _I need you safe…_ '

~8~

Inside the TARDIS River ran over to the console, bringing the monitor around.

"He said the scanner wouldn't work…" Rory began, watching the woman.

"I know," she smiled, "But Evy _has_ taught me a thing or two…" with that she attached a cable to the monitor, causing it to spark and start up.

~8~

"Ow!" the Doctor shouted as Evy ran over, trying to shove Canton away, but the man just twisted so he was sitting on the Doctor and grabbed her wrist, "Ow, ow!"

A moment later the doors burst open and a group of armed men in black suits ran in, their guns drawn, "Lock down!" a black guard ordered, "Lock down!"

Canton shoved Evy away so that another guard could grab her and hold her back. She struggled as more guards ran past her to help Canton hold down the Doctor who was now fighting that much more at the sight of Evy being restrained.

"River!" he yelled, "Has Evy taught you how to fix my scanner?"

~8~

Inside the TARDIS River shook her head, watching the Doctor and Evy being held back on the monitor, "Oh, I hate him."

~8~

"No you don't!" Evy shouted, as though reading River's thoughts.

"Get the President out of here!" Canton ordered, looking back at a guard by the President, "Sir you have to go with them now!"

"River make her blue again!" Evy called.

Moments later the TARDIS appeared in all its glory, effectively stunning the guards to the point where they didn't even realize the Doctor and Evy slipped out of their grips.

"What the hell is that?" Nixon breathed.

The guards looked down a moment later to see the Doctor gone and then spun around to see the Doctor sitting at the President's desk, flipping through a binder, with Evy standing behind him, "Mr. President…" the Doctor began, mimicking an American accent as he shut the binder.

The Time Lords looked up at the sound of guns cocking to see all the men, save Canton and Nixon, holding guns, aimed at them, "That child just told you everything you need to know," the Doctor continued, as though there weren't guns pointed at them, though Evy could see a tension in him, hinting that he wasn't _nearly_ as comfortable as he seemed, "You weren't listening. Never mind 'no's the answer's yes. We'll take the case!" he clapped his hands, but the guns weren't lowered, "Fellas, the guns, really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "We just walked into the _highest_ security office in the United States and parked a big blue box on the rug. You think you could just shoot us?"

River burst out of the TARDIS shouting, "They're Americans!" as if to say 'of course they would shoot them.'

The Doctor jumped up as the guards spun to aim at River, Rory, and Amy as well, "Don't shoot!" Evy shouted.

"Definitely no shooting," the Doctor agreed.

"Nobody shoot us either," Rory murmured as he and Amy walked out, their hands up, "Very much not in need of getting shot…look, we've got our hands up."

"Who the hell are you?" Nixon demanded, looking between the two groups.

"Sir," Canton said, completely calm and possibly more than a little amused, "You need to stay back."

"But who _are_ they? And what is that box?"

"It's a police box, can't you read?" the Doctor said, dropping his hands.

"Rude," Evy coughed.

He looked back at her a moment before turning back, "We're your new undercover agents on loan from Scotland Yard, code name: the Doctor…"

"Oh it's Agatha Christie all over again, isn't it?" Evy rolled her eyes, recalling the trouble his last incarnation got into, "If we end up getting chased by some giant wasp again, I'm gonna kill you."

"You sound like Jackie," he commented, recalling the one and only Jackie Tyler.

"Thank you," she smiled, actually sounding very pleased with the comment. She had the highest respect for all the mothers of his previous companions, they had to be incredible women in their own right in order to have a child that could stick it out with the Doctor.

A throat cleared and they looked over to see River nodding back at the guards with their guns.

"Oh, right," the Doctor grinned sheepishly, "This is my partner, the Beautiful Bird," he looked at Evy fondly, "And isn't she just?" Evy just nodded back to their friends, not bothering to tell the President her name was Evy, it seemed the Doctor wanted all 'code names' today, "Oh, right, and our top operatives," he grinned at Amy, Rory, and River, "The Legs, the Nose, and…"

"Mrs. Robinson," Evy finished with a cheeky grin.

"I hate you," River mock glared at her.

"No, you don't," the Doctor smirked.

"Who _are_ you?" Nixon demanded once more.

"Boring question, who's phoning you?" the Doctor continued, ignoring the President's question, "That's interesting 'cos Canton 3 is right, that was definitely a girl's voice, which means there's only one place in America she can be phoning from…"

"Where?" Canton asked, eyeing them closely, intrigued.

"Do not engage with the intruder Mr. Delaware!" the black guard ordered.

"You heard everything we heard," the Doctor turned to him, "It's simple enough, give me…" he trailed off, looking at Evy.

"Five minutes?" she challenged.

"Five minutes," he nodded, "We'll explain it," he grinned and moved to sit back down, "On the other hand, lay a finger on me or Evy," he tugged her down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her, "Or our friends and…you'll never ever know."

"How'd you get that in here?" Canton asked after a moment, motioning back to the TARDIS, "I mean, you didn't carry it…"

"Clever, eh?"

"Love it."

"Oh don't encourage him," Evy remarked at the same time as the black guard ordered, "Do not compliment the intruder!"

"Five minutes?" Canton asked him, considering it.

"Five," the Doctor promised.

"Mr. President that man and woman are a clear and present danger to…" the black guard began again, this time trying to appeal to the President instead of Canton.

"Mr. President that man and woman walked in here with a big blue box and three of their friends and that's…" he pointed at the guard, "The man they walked past. One of them's worth listening to."

"I like him," Evy stated, leaning against the Doctor.

Canton smiled at her before continuing, "I say we give him five minutes. See if he delivers."

"Thanks Canton," he smiled.

"If he doesn't. I'll shoot him myself."

"Not so thanks…"

"Sir I cannot recommend…" the guard began as he turned to the President.

"Shut up Peterson!" the President snapped, "Alright…"

"Five minutes," Canton turned to the Doctor and Evy, holding up his hand.

"And the guns?" Evy asked, glancing at the men.

Canton nodded and turned to the men, "Stand down."

Peterson opened his mouth to argue but the President cut him off, "Do as he says."

The Doctor and Evy watched in growing relief as the guards put their guns away.

The Doctor nodded his thanks to Canton before releasing his grip on Evy, "We're going to need a swat team ready to mobilize, street level maps covering all of Florida…" he reached out and tapped a few buttons, "A pot of coffee…"

' _I'm a bit hungry,_ ' Evy added to him silently.

He held up an index finger and pointed at Canton, "12 Jammie Dodgers and a fez!" he grinned widely, tapping his fingers on the desk in excitement.

"Oh no," Evy shook her head, turning in his lap to look at him, "No fez."

"But…"

"I got you a fez and you lost it in 1933," she cut in, slightly chastising, "It's your own fault. No more fez."

He pouted, knowing how it got to Evy, especially now that she was pregnant.

Evy just shook her head at him and gave him a little peck which he gladly accepted. If he couldn't get a fez at least he'd gotten a kiss from the deal.

"Get him his maps," Canton added, grinning amusedly at their interaction.

The Doctor began to pout again and Evy laughed, "You should have _known_ that would happen," she told him, tapping his nose, "The Daleks didn't get you your tea, you really think the President would get you a swat team?" he considered her words a moment before nodding.

He turned to Canton though, "And the Dodgers?" he tried, his hand gently rubbing Evy's stomach.

Canton followed the action and glanced down at her baby bump, considering the request, "And some donuts," he offered.

Evy shrugged, that would do nicely.

~8~

There were maps _everywhere_. There was almost no spot on the rug of the Oval Office, no piece of furniture, not covered by maps. Amy and Rory sat across from each other on two sofas while the Doctor stood in the center of the room, holding up a map. Evy was leaning over another map on a small table while River knelt beside one on the floor. Canton stood near the desk where the President sat, watching them, while two guards stood at the door, ready to block the exit if anything happened.

Evy glanced up as the Doctor turned and walked past Canton towards the desk.

"Why Florida?" Canton asked the Doctor.

"It's where NASA's based," Evy answered for him.

"She kept mentioning spacemen," the Doctor agreed, "NASA is where the spacemen live."

"Unless you're Donna, then they're from Mars," Evy said. The Doctor looked up to see her smirking at him, "Right spaceman?"

He just laughed, shaking his head at her as he placed the map on the desk, "Also there's another lead we're following."

Evy's gaze travelled away from the Doctor, who had his back to the rest of them, and over to Amy, who had gotten up to kneel by River, both women speaking too quietly for her to hear. She frowned at the fact they were hiding things again but could only sigh as it was probably for some sort of noble reason. She turned back to her maps, squinting as she read the index of street names when…

"Amy?" she looked up as Rory stepped in front of Amy, "What did you remember?"

"I don't know," Amy frowned, "I just…" she suddenly put her hand to her mouth and another on her stomach, looking rather green.

"Amy what's wrong?" Evy said, walking over to her.

"Amy?" River looked up.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked, turning and walking over with his map again.

"Yeah, yeah, no, I'm fine," Amy smiled, waving them off, "I'm just feeling a little sick," she swallowed and walked over to a guard by the door, "Excuse me is there a toilet or something?"

"Sorry ma'am," the guard held up a hand, "While this procedure's ongoing we must remain within the Oval Office."

"Actually, I think I may need a go as well," Evy said, stepping over to Amy.

"Ma'am, we must remain in the Oval Office for the duration of…"

"Fine, that's all well and good," Evy cut in, "But as you can see I'm clearly pregnant, which means I have a baby pressing against my bladder. Now if you want me to stay here, that's fine, but I think the President will be rather cross if a stain appears on the carpet. If you know what I mean."

Canton laughed, "Just take them to the restroom."

The guard turned to the second guard and nodded back towards the door, "This way ma'ams," the second guard held up a hand to lead them.

"One moment," Evy said, before quickly turning and walking over to the Doctor. She took the map from him, turning it upside down and handing it back.

"Thanks love," he smiled at her, embarrassed. She just kissed him on his cheek and rushed back to Amy and the guard.

"Thanks," Amy said to Evy as she joined her. Evy just smiled at her.

"Your five minutes are up," they heard Canton say as they turned to leave.

"Yeah?" the Doctor countered, "And where's my fez?"

"In 1933!" came Evy's reply as she and Amy disappeared around the corner.

The guard led them down the hall, to a side door, gesturing to them that this was the door they were looking for. Amy started to head in, the guard following, when she turned and stopped, "Actually I can usually manage this alone."

The guard hesitated but then stepped back.

Amy started to go in but paused, looking back at Evy who was standing there, a confused look on her face, her hand resting on her stomach, "You coming?" she asked the Time Lady.

Evy looked up, snapping out of her thoughts, "Actually…I think I may stay here."

Amy frowned, "But don't you have to…"

Evy laughed, "Secret," she leaned forward, "A Time Lord's bladder is in a different location than a human, the baby doesn't press against it at all, lucky me. I just said that so you could get out," Amy smiled at her thankfully, "But if you want, I can come in with you, hold your hair back or something if you think you might be sick..."

Amy shook her head, "I'm fine. Not _that_ sick anymore."

"If you're sure…"

"I'll be _fine_ ," Amy rolled her eyes, "It's just a toilet."

She turned and walked in, leaving Evy watching after her worriedly. She couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. She was all set to go in there with Amy, but something in her gut told her to stay out of the bathroom. And, ever since she'd discovered her pregnancy, she'd been listening to her gut, her maternal instincts, more than ever. She frowned, waiting for Amy as she couldn't deprive the woman of her relief, she was probably just still jittery from the guns that had been pointed at her before.

Suddenly Amy rushed out, looking pale, scared, and out of breath, "Amy!" Evy rushed forward and hugged the girl, "You ok?"

"I'm fine," she smiled, hugging the woman before pulling away and wrapping her arms over her stomach, "Much better, thanks."

"What's that?" the guard asked, nodding to the phone in her hands and Evy frowned, looking down at it too.

"That's my phone."

"Your phone?"

"Why do you have it out?" Evy looked up at her, concerned.

"I have to tell the Doctor," Amy told her.

"Tell him what?" Evy shook her head, confused.

"Sorry," Amy tried to laugh, looking equally as confused, "I don't know why I said that…"

"This way ma'ams," the guard cut in, holding out his arm to lead them back to the Oval Office.

~8~

The Doctor was standing, looking at his map, looming over the President's desk as he did so, when the phone started to ring, everyone looking at it as Amy and Evy walked back in.

"The kid?" Canton asked.

"Should I answer it?" Nixon wondered aloud, looking at the Doctor.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" the Doctor straightened up, "The only place in the United States that call could be coming from!" he pointed at the map as Evy walked over, smiling, "See obvious when you think about it?" he grinned at her as River walked over and Canton leaned over to look.

"You, sir, are a genius," Canton remarked as the Doctor stretched out his back and clapped, "Mr. President answer the phone."

Nixon hesitated a moment before answering the phone and pressing record on the tape recorder, "Hello? This is President Nixon."

"It's here!" the little girl cried, "The spaceman is here! It's gonna get me. It's gonna eat me!"

"There's no time for a swat team," the Doctor shouted as Evy grabbed his jacket and held it out for him, "Let's go!" she helped him put it on as the others ran back into the TARDIS.

"Mr. President tell her help is coming," Evy told the man on the phone before running into the TARDIS as well.

"Canton," the Doctor added as he backed up, "On no account follow us into this box and close the door behind you."

"What the hell are you doing?" Canton shouted as the Doctor disappeared inside. He ran over and shut the door behind him, the box disappearing before the President's eyes.

~8~

Inside, Canton stopped short, staring around in shock at the interior of the TARDIS. The Doctor, River, and Evy were running around the console, getting the coordinates put in and flying the TARDIS. Rory stood by the door while Amy watched the pilots.

"Jefferson isn't a girl's name..." the Doctor began.

"I've met boys named Jayne," Evy shrugged, cutting in.

The Doctor suddenly stopped and stood before her, "When was _that_?"

She just smiled and patted his cheek, "Jefferson?" she reminded him.

"Right!" he shouted, spinning back to the console but then turned to her, "We're talking about that later."

"Of course," she agreed with a laugh.

"It's not her name either. Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton...River!"

"Surnames of three of America's founding fathers," River recited.

"Lovely fellows," the Doctor grinned, "Two of them fancied me."

"Well one of them proposed to me," Evy countered.

The Doctor spun to her again with his finger raised, "I thought we agreed never to speak of that!"

She just laughed harder.

Canton spun in a circle, trying to look all around him, "You ok?" Rory asked, "Coping?"

"Nixon asked her two questions," Evy turned back to the conversation at hand, "Where are you and who are you. She was answering the first one."

"It's bigger on the inside…" Canton mumbled.

"Yeah…" Rory smirked, "You get used to it…"

"Now, where would we find three big historical names on a roadmap?" the Doctor asked.

"Where?" Amy asked him.

"Here!" Evy said, pulling a lever, landing the TARDIS.

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing Evy's hand and running to the doors, only to have Canton stop him.

"It's, uh…" Canton shook his head, at a loss for words.

"Are you taking care of this?" the Doctor turned to Rory, "Good!"

They pushed past Canton and ran outside as Rory shouted after them, "Why is it always _my_ turn?"

Amy stopped and turned to him, "Because you're the newest," she smiled and kissed her husband on the cheek before running outside. She stopped short and looked around, "Where are we?"

The Doctor was sitting on a chair, Evy on his lap, waving a small American flag at her. The room was decrepit, dirty, scattered with boxes and other items, looking very run down and abandoned.

"I'd say almost five miles from Kennedy Space Center," Evy replied, glancing back at River and Amy standing behind them.

"It's 1969, the year of the moon," the Doctor added as the two women pulled out torches, "Interesting don't you think?"

"But why would a little girl be here?" Amy shook her head.

"I don't know. Lost her maybe. The President asked her where she was so she did what any lost little girl would do," Evy stood up and the Doctor took her hand, walking over to the window and looking out, "She looked out of the window."

Evy glanced back to see River picking up a phone as the Doctor stared out at the street signs with those famous names on them.

"Streets!" Amy nodded, catching on, "Of course, they're street names!"

"And _this_ , is the only place in Florida," Evy began, "Probably all of America, where those three street names meet on the same junction."

"And Dr. Song," the Doctor turned to lean against the window, looking past Evy at the archaeologist, "You've got that face on again."

"What face?" she asked, smirking.

"The 'they're being so clever' face," he smirked as well.

"This is my normal face."

"Yes it is."

"Oh shut up."

"Not a chance."

' _Doctor,_ ' he heard Evy say in his head. He turned to see her holding the phone River had just been looking at. He frowned at her expression and walked over, taking it from her and listening. His expression grew more confused as River walked away, past Canton, who had just come out of the TARDIS.

"It's moved!" Canton exclaimed, looking around. The Doctor put the phone down, taking Evy's hand once more and walking over towards the man, "How…how can we…have moved?" he started laughing.

"We haven't even got to space travel yet?" the Doctor smirked at the man.

Rory shut the door behind him, "I was going to cover it with time travel…"

"Time travel?" Canton looked back at Rory, stunned.

"Brave heart, Canton, come on!" the Doctor clapped his hands and turned to walk away, draping his arm over Evy's shoulders.

"So we're in a box that's bigger on the inside and travels through time and space…" Canton began to Rory as they followed.

"Yeah, basically," Rory smiled.

"How long has Scotland Yard had this?"

"It's a warehouse of some kind…" River said as they walked into the main room of the building, "Disused."

"Do you realize this is almost certainly a trap of course," the Doctor stated, his arm on Evy tightening.

"I noticed the phone yes."

"What about it?" Amy asked.

"It was cut off, which begs the question of how the child was able to phone from here?" Evy answered for her.

"Ok, but why would anyone want to trap us?"

"Don't know," the Doctor shrugged, "Let's see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards."

Evy just rolled her eyes and stepped out from beneath the Doctor's arm, pulling out her sonic from its little holster and using it as a torch and scanner.

"Now why would a little girl be here?" River asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor repeated, "Let's find her and ask her."

"What's this?" Evy said, spotting some sort of lab table/examination area set up. She walked over to it, scanning the various wires with her sonic as Rive came to join her.

"Its non-terrestrial," River read from readings on her own scanner, "Definitely alien. Probably not even from this time zone."

"Which is odd because look at this!" the Doctor called. They looked over to see him rummaging through a crate filled with paper filling, a NASA astronaut suit sticking out.

"It's Earth tech!" River's eyes widened as they walked over, "Contemporary."

" _Very_ contemporary," Evy corrected, kneeling down to look at the suit.

"Cutting edge," the Doctor agreed, lifting up a helmet to look at, "This is from the space program!"

"Stolen?" River frowned.

"By aliens?" Amy asked incredulously.

"Apparently," Evy mumbled as she sifted through the paper for anything else that might be hidden in there.

"But why?" Amy shook her head, watching as the Doctor put the helmet on, "I mean, if you could make it all the way to Earth, why steal technology that can barely make it to the moon?"

The Doctor said something that was muffled by the visor so Amy and River looked over at Evy, "Oh, he said 'maybe 'cos it's cooler!'"

The Doctor lifted the visor, "Look how cool this stuff is!"

"Cool aliens?" Amy raised an eyebrow at that.

"Well what would you call us?" Evy asked, smiling.

"You?" Amy thought a moment, "Cool…him…" she nodded at the Doctor, "An alien."

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted, struggling to get the helmet off.

Evy just laughed, "We make a set."

"I, uh, I think he's ok now," Rory called, pointing his torch at Canton, who was looking up at the warehouse with his own light out.

"How are you, Canton?" Evy asked as the Doctor dropping the helmet back into the crate and walked over.

"I like your wheels," Canton replied, still looking up.

"That's my boy!" the Doctor grinned, patting the man on the shoulder as he walked past with Evy, "So come on, little girl, let's find her."

Evy looked back to motion them on and saw Amy and River quietly talking again. Amy seemed to be arguing something with River who seemed resigned as she countered what Amy was saying.

' _You could take a peek you know,_ ' the Doctor's voice drifted through her mind, noticing them as well.

' _No,_ ' she shook her head, ' _Whatever it is…they don't want us to know for a reason._ '

' _But…_ '

' _I've been in that position before and Amy asked us to trust her. I won't look._ '

The Doctor seemed on the verge of pouting when River's voice cut through their thoughts, "Doctor! Evy! Look at this!"

The Doctor sighed and held out this hand to Evy who took it as he led her back over to where Amy and River were standing. River crouched down and moved a manhole cover to the side, showing a wire running down it.

"So where does that go?" the Doctor asked, trying to look down the hole as River held her scanner over it.

"There's a network of tunnels running under here," River replied.

"Any sort of life signs?" Evy asked.

"No, nothing that's showing up…"

"That's the _worst_ kind," the Doctor mumbled, squeezing Evy's hand in his as they both recalled the last time a scanner had claimed no life signs and River was involved.

"Be careful!" Evy couldn't help but shout as River started to lower herself into the manhole.

"Careful?" River looked up at them with a smirk, "Tried that once. Ever so dull."

"Shout if you get in trouble," the Doctor ordered her lightly.

"Don't worry, I'm quite the screamer," she laughed as she went down, "Now _there's_ a spoiler for you."

Evy frowned at that, not entirely sure in what context that should be taken in.

"So what's going on?" Canton asked as the Doctor stood.

"Uh, nothing," the Doctor replied, spinning around to face them, "She's just a friend," and then turned to Evy, who was kneeling, making sure River got down safe, "Seriously, I swear, she's _just_ a friend. Our friend. That's all. Really…"

Evy just stood up and kissed him, quieting him down, "I know," she whispered. She had a feeling that River only said that to irritate the Doctor, see him squirm. It was sort of like how she continued to call him 'sweetie' despite how annoyed he got with it.

"I think he's talking about the possible alien incursion…" Rory stepped forward to speak quietly to the Doctor, who now looked embarrassed as he'd forgotten Amy, Rory, and Canton were still there.

"Ok!" he shouted, patting Rory on the shoulder as he moved past him, doing the same to Canton as well.

~8~

Canton was looking at some sort of liquid in a jar on a table across from where Amy was doing the same. The Doctor, Rory, and Evy were scattered around, each looking at the area as well, "So," he said, getting Amy's attention, "I was in a bar having a drink, tell me honestly, am I still there?"

"'Fraid not," she smiled, understanding his feelings.

"You alright?" Evy asked.

They all looked over to see River had come up from the manhole, breathing heavily. None of them save Evy had seen her slightly startled expression before it morphed into the calm one she wore now.

"All clear!" she shouted, "Just tunnels. Nothing down there I can see. Give me five minutes, I want to take another look around."

She stared to head back down as Evy frowned.

"Stupidly dangerous!" the Doctor called after her.

"Yup!" River laughed, "I like it too!" she paused and turned to Amy, "Amy look after them."

' _Doctor, something's wrong,_ ' she turned to look at the Doctor.

' _What do you mean?_ '

' _Back in the White House, when Amy went to the toilet, she came out of it looking really scared. When I asked her if she was ok, it was like a switch flipped and she was fine. It was like something happened and she didn't remember._ '

' _Do you not remember either?_ ' he asked, making his way over to her, his hands resting on her head to check if she was ok.

' _I didn't go in,_ ' she admitted, her hand resting on her stomach, ' _There was just something telling me not to go in._ '

He nodded, ' _And you think whatever happened to Amy happened just now to River too?_ ' she nodded, sending him her memory of when River had come up, the exact same switch flipping from River being scared to calm, ' _Ok._ '

"Rory," he turned to the man beside him, ignoring Canton who was staring at them with a questioning look, "Would you mind going with her?"

"Yeah, a bit," Rory said.

"Then we appreciate it even more," Evy smiled at him as the Doctor clapped him on the back.

Rory sighed and turned to walk towards the manhole, "Hang on River, I'm coming too!"

~8~

Rory jumped off the last rung of the ladder down the manhole and turned to see River hunched over, looking ill, "You ok?"

"Yes, yes, just felt a bit sick," she straightened up, "It's the prison food probably," she swallowed hard and pulled out her scanner, "Ok. This way? What do you think?" without waiting for a reply, she set off, scanning things as she passed, with Rory following behind her.

"I keep thinking I hear things," he said after a few moments.

"That's interesting…" River breathed, "These tunnels are old… _really_ old. How can they be really old and nobody noticed?" she stopped short, seeing a door a few feet away.

"It's a maintenance hatch," Rory frowned, eyeing it, wondering why it would be down in the tunnels.

"It's locked," River muttered as she scanned it before kneeling beside it, "Why do people always lock things?"

"What's through there?" Rory asked as River got out some sort of lock picking device.

"No idea."

"Something bad?"

"Almost definitely."

"You're going to open that, aren't you," Rory said, more of a statement than a question.

"Oh it's locked. How's a girl supposed to resist? Evy wouldn't be able to either for that matter. Good thing I have this," she smiled at the device as it powered up, "Birthday present from an old friend."

"Is this sensible?"

"God I hope not," River flashed her tool against the lock and got to work.

"You and Evy and the Doctor…" Rory muttered, "I can kind of picture it."

"Keep a look out," River glanced at him, before focusing on the door again.

"What did you mean?" Rory spoke again, a few minutes later, "What you said to Amy. There's a worse day coming for you?"

"When I first met the Doctor and Evy a long, _long_ time ago," she began quietly, "They knew all about me. Think about that. Impressionable young girl, suddenly this man and woman just drop out of the sky and she's clever and he's mad and they're both just wonderful and they know every last thing about her. Imagine what that does to a girl."

"I don't really have to," Rory admitted softly.

It had happened with Amy, the very same thing. The Doctor and Evy fell out of the sky and whisked her off later. And he knew, he _knew_ Amy harbored some sort of feelings for the Doctor that just grew over time. He was certain nothing would happen though, at first the Doctor had been imaginary, but then, when he saw the man was real, he'd seen how in love he was with Evy. Amy saw that now, and she accepted that. The two travelers were even starting a family…but there would _always_ be something lurking in the back of his mind that, maybe, Amy was just with him because the Doctor was taken, like he was second best…

"Trouble is," River continued, unaware of Rory's inner turmoil, "It's all back to front. My past is their future. We're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet, I know them more, they know me less. I live for the days I see them, but I know that every time I do they'll be one step further away. The day's coming when I'll look into that man's eyes, my Doctor, or hug that girl, my Evy, and they won't have the faintest idea who I am," there was a clicking noise as the lock opened, "And I think it's going to kill me."

Rory turned around as the door opened and they both walked into the room to see a large space inside, a spaceship with a few control pads set up with an orb in the center of them.

"What is this place?" Rory asked, standing in the doorway as River stepped in.

The lights began to flicker as a beeping noise sounded, "That's an alarm," River called back, "Check if anything's coming."

Rory looked out the door, spotting an alien with a large head in a suit and quickly turned back, calm again, "There's nothing out there."

River scanned the orb in the center of a panel, taping some sort of code in, and put her hand on it before looking back at the scanner, "These tunnels. They're not just here, they're everywhere. They're running under the surface of the entire planet! They've been here for centuries…" she saw something like electricity crackle behind her and spun around, her eyes wide, "RORY!"

~8~

Canton held up a wire, looking at it, as Amy came over to him, "So, you were kicked out of the FBI, because you had attitude problems," she began.

"No, I just wanted to get married," he told her, putting the wire down.

Evy looked over at the comment from where she was scanning some of the tech with her sonic before getting back to work.

"Is that a crime?" Amy frowned.

"Yes," he nodded, before pointing over to where Evy and the Doctor were working, "Doctor who? Exactly?"

"That's classified."

"Classified by who?"

"God knows."

"But you work for him. For them."

"They're my friends, if friends is the right word. I haven't seen them in a while. I had something I wanted to tell them…" she trailed off, deep in thought, "But stuff always gets in the way."

"Stuff does that," Canton remarked, looking at another wire.

"Help me!" someone that sounded like a little girl shouted. They all spun around to look in the direction of the voice, Canton pulling out his gun as he stepped forward, "Help! Help me!"

"That's her!" he shouted, running off after the call. Amy started to run after him but suddenly hunched over, holding her stomach in pain.

"Amy!" Evy called, drawing the Doctor's attention a she ran to Amy's side, Canton running past.

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked, kneeling down before Amy and Evy.

"I need to tell you something," Amy began, gasping as she grabbed his hand, "It's important! It's really, _really_ important!"

"Doctor!" Canton shouted, "Evy! Quickly!"

"What, _now_?" the Doctor asked, before pulling her up and running after Canton, Evy helping to support the girl. They ran to a corner, the Doctor motioning for them to be quiet before he rushed around it, his sonic out, "Canton!" he yelled, spotting the man knocked out on the ground. He ran over to him as Evy and Amy ran around the corner as well, "Canton, are you ok?"

"Is he alright?" Amy asked as Evy soncied the man.

"Just unconscious," Evy sighed with relief, "Someone whacked him."

"Doctor, Evy, I have to tell you something. I have to tell you it _now_."

"Not at the moment Amy," the Doctor replied, still focused on checking on Canton. Evy was tempted to smack him for being so rude, but the situation was far too serious and distractions wouldn't do well.

"No, it's important. It _has_ to be now."

"Help!" the girl shouted and they turned, hearing her, the Doctor and Evy trying to spot her, "Help me!" Amy knelt before them, "Help me!"

"Doctor, Evy," Amy took a breath, "…I'm pregnant."

The Doctor and Evy turned to stare at her, their mouths open, when the sound of boots stomping reached them. They looked over to see someone in a spacesuit walk in. The Doctor stood up.

"That's it…the astronaut…" Amy breathed.

Evy looked over at her, startled and confused, before she too stood by the Doctor's side, both of them watching as the astronaut raised its visor to reveal a little girl.

"Help me!" the girl cried, raising her hand to them.

"Get down!" Amy shouted.

The Doctor turned to see Amy grabbing Canton's fallen gun, "What are you doing?!"

"Saving your life!" she shouted, spinning and firing, just as Evy leapt towards her.

"NO!" the Doctor yelled as Amy screamed.

To be continued…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time Lord tradition, the parents are not to know the gender of the baby till it's born.
> 
> Next chapter...Evy comes close to a breakdown of sorts. River is given new, though rather familiar clothes. The Doctor is an idiot, but not exactly stupid. Will Evy's inspiration save her from the memory affects of the Silence?


	2. Day of the Moon

_He had never been more terrified in his life than when Evy leapt towards Amy when the girl had fired the gun at the little girl in the astronaut suit. He would swear forever that his hearts stopped in that brief moment, till he was able to see that it had not been Evy's intention to jump in front of the bullet, not like Jenny had, but that she had grabbed Amy's hand and pushed it up so that she'd missed striking the child, not that it helped Amy get over her shock that she'd nearly shot a child._

_They ran after that, as fast as they could. He grabbed Canton, hefted the man to his feet, and half dragged him away as Evy pulled Amy along. They ran past Rory and River, coming out of the manhole, shouting for them to run. They'd nearly made it to the TARDIS, when Canton stopped, clutching his shoulder, not understanding what was going on._

_They'd told him to look behind him and he had…only to see one of the aliens standing there…_

The Doctor jerked awake from his dream of what had led up to the last three months of isolation and retention. His first action, as soon as he was conscious, was to look to his right where Evy was seated beside him, the poor girl stuck in another straightjacket, as was he, though both had chains wrapped around them as extra insurance.

He saw she was awake and smiled at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way. She smiled back, though he could tell the extended time in the straightjacket was not helping her forget her terrible past in the Mason Institute. In fact, when Canton had first brought them to Area 51, kicking and screaming, other soldiers had run forward and begun to force Evy into a straightjacket despite her pregnant state.

She hadn't reacted quite so well to that.

He could see in her mind at the time that as soon as they brought the jacket forward her mind had gone back to when she'd worn one last. She had started screaming, ones that he was sure would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life. He never, ever, _ever_ wanted her to experience fear like that again. He'd struggled to get to her but the two men holding him back and forcing him into his own straightjacket were too strong. As soon as they'd strapped him in he's twisted quickly and managed to break free. He ran and skid to a halt next to Evy who had collapsed to the ground in tears. He'd never been more frustrated at that moment of being unable to physically comfort her as his hands were tied to his sides. But he could comfort her another way. He'd rested his forehead against hers, whispering to her that she was safe, he was fine, they were together, she wasn't back there, he was alive. She'd calmed down slightly after that, but the straightjacket didn't make her feel any more comfortable with the situation.

The only comfort they'd had was that Canton seemed to take her pregnancy into consideration, making sure they were both well fed, and keeping any doctors with delusions of dissecting her away from them, claiming they were too prime of specimens to make a mistake on an operating table and accidently kill them, citing that they didn't know how the aliens' bodies worked and that, for all they knew, human medicines could kill them. It was surprising how accurate he was in that thought despite not knowing much about aliens.

Evy smiled a bit wider at him as he sent her a mental kiss, she swore she could almost feel the brush of his newly grown beard against her cheek from the action.

The doors opened and they looked over to see Canton and another man in a suit walk past the signs warning others not to approach the prisoners. The armed guards stationed around them watched as Canton approached the small black platform they were sitting on.

"We found Amy Pond," Canton said as he walked forward, carrying a folder with pictures in it, "She had strange markings on her arm…" he held one up to show Amy's arm lying on the ground where her body had fallen with tally marks on it, "Do you know what they are?" he tossed the picture down on the yellow 'do not cross' line that circled them.

"Why don't you ask her?" the Doctor glared at him.

Canton just smirked as Evy stared down at the picture of the fallen girl's arm.

~8~

The Doctor was staring at two scientists in lab coats as they placed a black brick on top of a row of black material, making a wall of sorts around the two Time Lords. They already had the corner behind Evy built up quite high.

"We found Dr. Song," Canton said as he watched them.

"These bricks," the Doctor murmured, looking closely at them, "What are they made of?"

Canton didn't answer.

"Where's River?" Evy asked, looking up at the man.

"She ran," he smirked, "Off the 50th floor."

"I'd say Zero Balance Dwarf Star Alloy," the Doctor muttered.

"The densest material in the Universe," Evy frowned, looking over, watching as a crack where the brick was placed faded, sealing itself, "Nothing can get through that."

"You're building us the perfect prison," the Doctor realized, looking up at Canton, "And it still won't be enough."

"Especially since we broke out of the Pandorica."

' _Technically, Rory let us out,_ ' the Doctor countered in her mind.

' _They don't need to know that._ '

~8~

Canton walked into Area 51 where the prison was now completed, soldiers dragging two body bags along with him. They pulled the bags into the black box, through a doorway of missing bricks, and laid them at the Doctor and Evy's feet, one on one side of the Doctor the other on Evy's side.

"Is there a reason you're doing this?" the Doctor glared at Canton who stood there, watching, with a smile.

"I want you to know where you stand," Canton remarked.

"In a cell."

Canton watched the soldiers leave, "In a _perfect_ cell. Nothing can penetrate these walls. No sound, no radio wave…" he put his hand on the wall, sticking his fingers into five rings cut out in the brick. A square lit up around the rings and the space where the door was filled in and shut, sealing them in, "Not the tiniest particle of anything. In here, you're cut off from literally the rest of the Universe," he looked over, watching as the last crack sealed, "So I guess they can't hear us right?"

"Nicely done Canton," Evy smiled.

"Door's sealed?" the Doctor double checked.

"You bet," Canton nodded.

The Doctor and Evy quickly stood up, pulling off their chains and jackets. The Doctor ran to Evy's side, checking on her and the baby, her bump now a bit bigger as she looked around 4 Earth months pregnant now. Amy and Rory sat up in their body bags with a gasp, trying to get out. Seeing Evy was alright, the Doctor ran over to Rory's side, checking on him as Evy checked on Amy.

"You ok?" the Doctor asked, looking between the two.

"Finally!" Amy gasped.

"These things could really do with air holes!" Rory commented as the Doctor helped him stand and get out.

"Never had a complaint before," Canton shrugged.

"Now, first order of business," the Doctor said, before turning to Evy and pulling her to him. He dipped her to the side and gave her a rather deep kiss that made the others look away, embarrassed, not that the Doctor or Evy noticed. Three months was really _far too long_ to go without physical contact, though it did wonders for their telepathic bond.

Amy cleared her throat and turned to Canton, "Isn't it gonna look odd that you're staying in here with us?" she frowned, stepping out of the bag as the Doctor rightened Evy, who began stretching her arms across her chest as the Doctor stretched out his arms in windmills.

"Odd," Canton agreed, "But not alarming. They know there's no way out of this place."

"Exactly!" the Doctor grinned, "Whatever they might think we're doing in here…" he snapped his braces, "They know we're not going anywhere," he fell to the side, leaning against the TARDIS that flashed around the edges and snapped his fingers, looking back at the doors expectantly. He let his head fall to his chest as he shook his head, the doors were still shut, the TARDIS was not too pleased with being disused for so long. So he looked to the TARDIS's 'favorite' person, "Evy?"

She just shook her head at him and snapped her own fingers, the doors bursting open, "Shall we?" she asked the group who ran into the TARDIS.

"Thanks love," the Doctor smiled, putting an arm around her as they ran up to the console.

"What about Dr. Song?" Canton asked, "She dove off a rooftop!"

"Don't worry," the Doctor said, shutting the doors behind Canton, "She does that."

"Amy, Rory, get the doors to the swimming pool open," Evy called as the two ran off and she and the Doctor headed to the console to pilot.

Moments later there was a splashing noise, signaling the arrival of River Song.

~8~

River stepped around the console, drying her hair with a towel, "Thanks for the clothes Evy," she smiled at the girl, motioning to her sleeveless pale green dress, gray leggings, and boots.

"Not a problem," she replied, waving her off. It had been the outfit she had worn to Mars so she was more than happy to give the outfit away. She quickly got back to helping the Doctor pilot…more like piloting the box herself as the Doctor ran around the console like a chicken with its head cut off.

"So!" the Doctor shouted, scratching his beard a moment, "We know they're everywhere, not just the landing party, an occupied force. And they've been here a very, _very_ long time. And nobody knows that because nobody can remember…"

"So what are they up to?" Canton frowned.

"No idea," the Doctor said, "But the good news is…" Evy pulled a lever and the TARDIS jolted to a stop, "We've got a secret weapon!" he held out his hand to Evy who ran over and grabbed it, pulling him towards the door. They all ran out to see the Apollo 11 rocket, ready for launch.

"Apollo 11's your secret weapon?" River looked at them incredulously.

"No, no! It's not Apollo 11, that would be silly. It's Neil Armstrong's foot."

"Much less silly," Evy remarked, rolling her eyes at him.

"Right then," the Doctor spun around, stroking his beard, "What's say we all get cleaned up and meet back in 15 minutes?" he turned to Evy, "I need a bit of a trim, what do you think?"

She nodded, "Me too," she absently fingered her longer hair which she had yet to put up in her ponytail.

"I rather like it long," he commented, wrapping a lock around his finger.

She smiled softly up at him, "Only for you," she agreed, gathering her hair and tying it up, no cutting her hair today.

He beamed, "And what about me? The beard? Keep it or no?"

She grimaced and shook her head, "No, too much like the Master when he had that ridiculous beard of his. Shave."

He nodded, "Ok!" and then turned and raced into the TARDIS. Evy shook her head fondly and looked over at Canton who was watching them oddly, slightly bemused, "What?" she asked. He just shook his head.

~8~

"Ow!" Canton shouted.

Evy looked up from where she was sitting on the jump seat, sketching, to see the Doctor had just shot something into Canton's hand.

"So!" he turned around, "Three months, what have we found out?"

"Well, they are everywhere," Rory began, "Every state in America…" the Doctor reached out and took his hand, shooting something into it as well, "AH!"

"Not just America," Evy remarked, "Looks like it's gone global."

"There's a greater concentration here though," River called, looking at the monitor.

"OW!" Amy cried as the Doctor shot her hand.

"Are you ok?" the Doctor asked her seriously.

"All better."

"Better?"

"Turns out I was wrong," she said quietly as Rory walked over, "I'm not pregnant."

' _How is that being_ better _?_ ' Evy wondered.

The Doctor could only agree, having a child…his hearts burst just at the idea of it…how anyone could not want one was beyond him.

"What's up?" Rory asked, coming to stand by Amy.

"Nothing," Amy said quickly, "Really, nothing, seriously."

The Doctor turned and walked away.

"So you've _seen_ them, but you don't _remember_ them," Canton began, trying to follow along.

"Not just them," Evy told him, glancing up, "They were there at the warehouse that night. _You_ saw them too."

"Remember?" River nodded, "While you were pretending to hunt us down we saw _hundreds_ of those things. We still don't know what they look like."

The Doctor stopped at Evy's side, glancing down at what she was sketching.

"It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away," Rory continued, "The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything."

"Sometimes you feel a bit sick though, but not always," Amy added.

"So that's why you marked your skin," Canton nodded slowly.

"Only way we'd know if we had an encounter."

"How long have they been here?"

"That's what we've spent the last three months trying to find out."

"Not easy if you can't remember anything you discover," Rory frowned.

"How long do you think?" Canton tried again.

"As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye," the Doctor said, walking forwards slowly, "Or creaking in your house, or breathing under your bed, or voices through a wall. They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep this straight in your head. We are not fighting an alien invasion, we're leading a revolution."

Evy suddenly stiffened and the Doctor was at her side in a moment, "What is it?" he asked her, checking her over, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, reaching out to grab his hand and placed it quickly on her stomach, "It's kicking," she breathed, letting him feel their child, it was the first time she'd felt the baby move like that. Although she hadn't exactly been able to touch her stomach during the last three months, she was fairly certain it hadn't kicked, "I think it likes when you do that."

"Do what?" he asked quietly, his eyes fixed on his hand on her stomach in wonder, feeling the small thump against his palm.

"Be the hero," she answered, placing her hand over his, "Make all your epic speeches and whatnot."

"My epic speeches?" he looked up at her, amused, though both of them had tears in their eyes to be able to share this moment. He couldn't help but smile at the thought that his words had had such an impact on their child that it started kicking because of them.

She just shrugged and removed her hand as the baby stopped kicking, "Something we both seem to like actually."

He smiled, dropping a kiss onto her hair as he stood up and turned back to the group, "Today the battle begins."

"How?" Canton asked, smiling softly at that little moment they'd witnessed.

"Like this…" the Doctor stated, subtly moving in and shooting River in the hand.

"AHH!" she shouted, not expecting that.

The Doctor and Evy couldn't help but laugh at that, "It's a nano recorder," Evy called as the Doctor held up a small red capsule to show them.

"Fuses with the cartilage in your hand," the Doctor said, shooting himself in the hand as well, "It tunes itself directly to the speech centers in your brain," he turned and put the gun into a small draw under the console.

"How come she doesn't get one?" Canton asked, nodding to Evy.

"She doesn't need one," the Doctor waved him off, "These recorders can pick up your voice no matter what. Telepathic connection. So, the moment you see one of the creatures…" he pushed the center of his palm with his middle finger, making it glow red, "You activate it. And describe aloud exactly what you see," he tapped the recorder with his other hand, his voice repeating back, "'And describe aloud exactly what you see.'"

"As soon as you break that contact you'll probably forget it even happened," Evy added.

"The light will flash if you've left yourself a message," he nodded, holding up his hand, "Keep checking your hand. If you've had an encounter, that's the first you'll know about it."

"Why didn't you tell me this before we started?" Canton asked, looking between the Doctor and Evy.

"We _did_ tell you," Evy said.

The Doctor nodded, "But even information about these creatures erases itself over time," he tapped something on the console, "We couldn't refresh it because we couldn't talk to you."

Canton looked over his shoulder a moment and then back at the Doctor, reaching out to straighten his bow-tie…pausing when he noticed Amy, Rory, and River were now all lined up behind the man, staring at him, "What? What are you staring at?"

"Look at your hand," River told him.

He looked down, only to see his hand blinking red, "Why's it doing that?"

"What does it mean if the light's flashing?" the Doctor said, "What did I just tell you?"

"But I haven't…"

"Play it," Evy called, now looking up from her sketching, setting her pencil down.

Canton pushed the button, hearing himself say, "My God how did it get in here?"

"Keep eye contact with the creature," the Doctor said on the recording, "When I say, turn back. And when you do, straighten my bow-tie."

Canton turned to look over his shoulder once more as the recording continued, "What? What are you staring at?"

And finishing with River, "Look at your hand."

There, standing at the back of the TARDIS, was one of the creatures.

"It's a hologram extrapolated from a photo on Amy's phone," the Doctor said, "Take a good long look..." the hologram faded out, all of them shaking their heads as they turned away, "You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting," he snapped his fingers, "Describe it to me!" he snapped his finger at Canton.

"I can't," Canton remarked, sounding startled.

"No, neither can I," he sighed.

"It's about a foot taller than us," they all looked over at Evy as she stood up and walked over to them, "With a large head and deep-set eyes, no nose, really just a few breathing holes, and skin over where the mouth should be so they probably speak telepathically. They're thin, with two very long, very thick fingers and a short pinky and thumb, it seems like they wear black suits with a black tie as well."

They all just stared at her, stunned.

"And _that's_ why she doesn't need the recorder," the Doctor said sadly, walking over to her and putting his arm around her.

"She can remember!" Canton's eyes widened, looking at Amy, River, and Rory who all looked equally as shocked, "How?"

Evy sighed, "In about ten years a mental institute will open in England, the Mason Institute. I got trapped there. The medicine they gave me, the amount, and the duration of it altered the way my mind works. I've always been able to see things other can't, I suppose my time there allowed me to remember things others can't as well."

"I'm so sorry for that," the Doctor whispered to her, planting a kiss to her temple.

They had worked it out during their stay in Area 51, silently talking to each other in their minds. He'd seen an image of the creature in hers, not able to remember it in his. At first they'd thought it was her inspiration, allowing her to see them, but she'd reminded him that that was exactly what her insiration was, the ability to _see_ what others couldn't. That didn't mean she could _remember_ things others couldn't as well. When she thought about the creatures, she got a feeling in the back of her mind that felt too much like when she would use her powers for small things, like she shouldn't be able to do it. And then they realized it was probably another aftereffect of the medication she'd been on in the Institute. Those medicines had given her access to a part of her mind she shouldn't have been able to use which manifested in the use of her powers. Apparently they also gave her mind an added boost in the memory department as well.

"It's in the past," she reasoned, shrugging. She turned and held up her sketch pad, "This is a more abstract version of what the aliens look like…" she dropped it, "Can you remember it?"

Amy blinked, "Yes!"

"How is that possible?" Rory shook his head, "We couldn't remember before…"

"It's not _exactly_ what it looks like, is it?" River guessed.

Evy nodded, "It's close, but not exact. It seems only exact replication is forgettable."

The Doctor nodded, it made sense, and now he knew better what they were dealing with. He turned to Canton, "You straightened my bow-tie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature."

"So they could do that to people," Amy frowned, standing beside the console as the Doctor went to go look up something on the monitor, Evy moving to stand next to him, "You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it."

"Like post hypnotic suggestion," Rory supplied.

"Ruling the world with post hypnotic suggestion…" Amy trailed, fearful of the idea, a pit forming in her stomach.

"Now then," the Doctor cut in, "A little girl in a spacesuit, they got the suit from NASA…"

"But where did the girl come from?" Evy finished, following his line of thought.

"Could be anywhere," Canton shook his head at the impossibility of trying to find one single place in all of America where she could have come from.

"Except," the Doctor cut in, "Except they probably stayed close to that warehouse, 'cos why bother doing anything else? And they take her from somewhere that would cause the least amount of attention," he brought up a green map with three red dots on it, zooming in to one of them, "But you'll have to find her, Evy and I are off to NASA."

"Find her?" Canton frowned, "Where do we look?"

"Children's homes," Evy answered sadly, her hand resting on her stomach. The thought of any child growing up without parents didn't sit right with her.

~8~

Evy rubbed her head once more as she wondered just how on Earth the Doctor had managed to convince her to allow _him_ to do this? She glanced over at the Doctor, who was currently laying in the top of the Apollo 11 module and fiddling with the wires.

"Love?" he called, holding out a hand for something. She knelt down and handed him a set of wire cutters and a small device she'd whipped up with a green blinking light on it. She glanced over at the mess of wires he was crossing when something beeped. He reached into his pocket and pulled on a headset that she'd made to connect him to the communicators she'd given to River and Amy, "Amy?"

"Is she ok?" Evy moved to sit on the edge of the module's opening.

"I think we found the place she was taken from," Amy replied, Evy hearing her words in the Doctor's mind.

"How do you know?" he frowned, concerned.

"'Cos those things have been here. The whole place is deserted. There's just one guy here and I think he's lost it."

"Repeated memory wipes," Evy muttered, shaking her head, "That can't be good for anyone."

The Doctor nodded, agreeing, "Must fry your head eventually," before he got back to Amy, "Find out what you can but _don't_ hang around," he frowned as he stuck the green light into the mess of wires, connecting it in.

"Where are you?" Amy wondered.

"Gotta go," he cut in, finally managing to get it attached, "Got company!" he slammed the panel closed and sat up to look through the opening to the two technicians who had approached, staring at him in shock, "Don't worry I've put everything back the way I found it…" and then he noticed a wire dangling in his hand, "Well except this. There's always a bit left over isn't there?"

"Only when you fix things dear," Evy remarked.

"Well we can't all be a Mrs. Fix-It can we?"

"Mrs. Fix-It?" she laughed.

"What?" he frowned, "Don't like it?"

She just smiled softly at him, "I prefer Mrs. Doctor if I had to pick."

He beamed, taking her hand in his as he got out of the module, "You'll always be that."

He turned as though about to leave and came face-to-face with the soldiers the technicians had called...and handcuffs.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting in a small lecture-like room with green chalkboards filled with scientific equations and plans for the module, handcuffed. He glanced over at Evy, who was sitting beside him, in her own pair of cuffs. There was a man in a white shirt with a black tie and slacks sitting in a chair across from them, staring at them questioningly through his glasses, while another similarly dressed man stood beside him, a soldier stationed behind them, blocking the door.

"Now, one more time sir," the seated man sighed, "How the hell did you get into the command module? It should have been impossible."

"You've never met Evy have you?" the Doctor smiled at her.

"You're telling me that this little lady here was able to bypass all the security codes and overrides to get you both to the top of the craft?" the man raised an eyebrow, incredulous.

"You should really take more care in your security," Evy remarked, not liking how the man seemed to think she wasn't very bright, "Your codes were far too easy to hack into. Even by human standards."

If her comment on 'human' standards seemed odd, the man gave no indication of it. Instead he turned to the Doctor, "Tell me the truth."

"Oh, I already told you," he moaned, "We're on a top secret mission for the President."

Evy shook her head as the Doctor then attempted to bite his way through the chain of the cuffs.

"Well maybe if you just get President Nixon to assure us of that, sir," the man started laughing, "That would be swell."

The Doctor released the links from his teeth and frowned.

"Lucky for you," Evy smiled, "I gave him a call."

"You did?" the Doctor turned to her as her thoughts filtered through the Link and he smiled.

"We _are_ talking about _you_ , Doctor," she smirked, "And knowing you, you were bound to get into some sort of trouble…and only you could warrant the need for a presidential pardon…" she leaned over to him, "Remember, I'm very good at backup plans."

He laughed, leaned towards her as well, brushing his nose against hers in a small Eskimo kiss.

The seated man seemed to be about to say something, when the doors behind him, on the others side of the room, opened. River and Rory stood against either door, holding it open, as President Nixon walked through, the TARDIS just visible behind him.

Evy almost laughed at seeing River dressed all proper in a TARDIS blue dress suit while the Doctor _did_ laugh at Rory with his hair slicked back, wearing glasses and suit.

"Hello!" Nixon greeted as the man stood up, stunned, all of them looking at the President while the Doctor just waved and Evy nodded in greeting, "I believe it's Mr. Gardner, is that correct?" Nixon asked, shaking the formerly seated man's hand, "Head of security?"

"Uh, yes sir!" Gardner shook his hand quickly, "Yes Mr. President!"

"Mr. Grant is it?" Nixon turned to the man behind Gardner, shaking his hand as well.

"Yes Mr. President!" Grant exclaimed, stunned.

"The hopes and dreams of millions of Americans stand here today at Cape Kennedy," Nixon smiled at the two men, "And you're the men who guard those dreams. On behalf of the American people, I thank you."

"You're welcome Mr. President," Gardner beamed.

"I understand you have a baby on the way Mr. Grant."

"Yes Mr. President," he nodded, shocked that the President knew.

"What are you hoping for? Boy or a girl?"

Evy couldn't help but rest her hand on her stomach and wonder the very same question.

"Just a healthy American sir," Grant answered.

The Doctor smiled at that, glancing over at Evy, taking her hand in his.

Rory turned, a small miniature of the Apollo 11 module catching his attention. He crouched down, looking at it closer.

Nixon laughed joyfully at Grant's answer, punching him lightly in the shoulder twice, "A healthy American will do just nicely!" he stepped back, clapping his hands once as he got down to business, "Now, fellas, listen to me, this man and woman here, code names the Doctor and the Beautiful Bird…" the two men looked back over their shoulders at the Doctor and Evy who just waved back at them, smirking, "Are doing some work for me personally. Could you, uh, cut them a little slack?"

"Uh, Mr. President, _she_ hacked into our systems," Gardner began nervously, "And _he_ broke into Apollo 11."

Nixon looked over at them tensely, not having expected that, the Doctor just mouthed 'sorry.'

"Well," Nixon fished for a response, "I'm, uh, I'm sure they had a very good reason for that…but I need you to release them now so we can get on with some very important work for the American people. Could you do that for me?"

"Well…" Grant began, clearly reluctant to give up the two people who may have tampered with Apollo 11.

"Son, I _am_ your Commander in Chief."

"Then I guess that would be fine," Gardner interrupted, "Mr. President."

"Glad to hear it," Nixon smiled, relieved.

Gardner motioned for the guard to release the Doctor and Evy, which he did. The Doctor stood, helping Evy up, lightly rubbing her wrists to see if she'd been hurt by the cuffs. When he was satisfied she was fine he turned to the President, "Thank you!" he stepped forward and shook Grant's hand, "Buh bye," and then shook Gardner's. This was followed by a snap of the fingers and pointing at the President before wrapping an arm around Evy's waist and walking past the men towards the TARDIS.

"Carry on gentlemen," Nixon nodded at them, turning to follow the Doctor. River nodded at them before leaving as well. Rory, still focused on the miniature, picked up a replica of a small satellite stuck to the top of it…breaking it off. He tried to re-stick it but it didn't quite work. He glanced at the scientists before placing it on the table and turning to them.

Rory cleared his throat before saying, "America salutes you," and giving them a small salute as well, before backing away towards the TARDIS, shutting the doors behind him.

~8~

Back in the Oval Office, Nixon was sitting at his desk as the Doctor and Evy stood before him, the TARDIS parked on the rug once more, "We need you to tape everything that happens in this office," Evy told him, "Every minute so we'll know if you've been influenced by them."

She turned to head back to the TARDIS with the Doctor as Nixon stood, "Doctor, Miss Bird," he called, "You have to give me more than this. What were you doing to Apollo 11?"

"A thing," the Doctor spun around, answering him, "A clever thing. Now no more questions," he stepped forward and leaned against the desk, "You have to trust us and nobody else."

Suddenly the TARDIS door opened and River was standing there, holding out one of Evy's communication devices, "Evy! Doctor! It's Canton!" they turned and ran into the TARDIS, "Quick! He needs us!"

~8~

They burst into the children's home, only to hear Amy calling out for help from up the stairs, and were off. They ran up, hearing Canton trying to bash a door down, "Amy can you hear me?" Canton was calling, "Amy I'm gonna try and blow the lock, I need you to stand back."

They reached the top just in time to see Canton aiming his gun at the lock, "Ok, gun down, I've got it!" the Doctor shouted, running over to the door with his sonic, flashing it across the lock.

"Amy!" Rory called, right behind him, "We're here, are you ok?"

"I can't see!" Amy cried.

"What happened?" Evy turned to Canton who was standing behind Rory, River, and the Doctor as the Doctor worked on the lock.

Canton could only shake his head.

The Doctor finally got the lock open and ran into the room followed by Rory, River, and then Canton. Evy rushed after them before stopping short in the doorway when she felt the baby kick. She stepped back and looked down the hall, staring at the nearest corner...her hand on her stomach...there was something…

"Where is she Doctor?" Rory called frantic.

Evy shook her head and turned to run into the room.

The Doctor was kneeling beside a fallen spacesuit, scanning it as River crouched down beside him, lifting the visor, "It's empty," River stated.

Rory spun in a circle, trying to find Amy, as Canton looked around, confused.

"It's dark," Amy's voice said, "So dark…" they all looked over to see her red nano recorder blinking from its spot on the floor, "I don't know where I am. Please can anybody hear me?"

Evy let out a breath, feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her at the realization that Amy had been taken. She stepped into the room, past Rory who knelt down to pick up the recorder.

"They took this out of her…" Rory whispered, looking up at the Doctor, "How did they do that Doctor?" Amy whimpered on the recording, crying, "Why can I still hear her?"

Evy flinched as Amy let out a sob, the Doctor stepping forward sadly.

"Is it a recording?" River asked from her spot next to the astronaut.

The Doctor just flashed his sonic over it quickly, "Um, it defaults to live, this is current."

"Wherever she is," Evy added, standing beside a dresser with quite a few pictures of the little girl on top of it, "This is what she's saying right now ."

"Amy can you hear me?" Rory asked, holding the recorder to his mouth, "We're coming for you. Wherever you are, we're coming, I swear."

"She can't hear you," the Doctor said sadly, "I'm so sorry, it's one-way."

Rory turned around to look the Doctor in the eye, "She can _always_ hear me, Doctor. Always. Wherever she is, and she always knows that I am coming for her. Do you understand me?"

The Doctor just stared at him a moment.

"Like I always know you're coming for me," Evy added quietly, looking at the Doctor. She smiled, "Always. Right Rory?" she asked the man.

Rory nodded, "Always."

"Doctor?" Amy's voice cut through their thoughts, Rory looked down quickly, "Evy? Are you out there? Can you hear me?" Rory looked down at that as Evy frowned, knowing how much hearing Amy call for them and not him was hurting him, "Doctor? Evy? Oh come on…" she started to cry, "Please…please just get me out of here…"

Rory swallowed hard and looked up, "They're coming. I'll bring them. I swear."

Evy looked down, feeling for Rory, her gaze travelling to the pictures standing on the dresser. She frowned, one was knocked over. She reached out for it, about to touch it, when a voice called from the hallway, "Hello?" they all spun around to see the director shuffling over to the door, "Is somebody there?" Canton lowered the gun he'd raised as the director of the home appeared in the doorway, "I think someone has been shot. I think we should help…I think…" he shook his head, "I can't rem…I can't remember…"

The Doctor quickly ran out of the room, getting the director to lead them through the halls, to his office, where one of the aliens was lying on the ground, clearly wounded, struggling to get back from them as they crowded into the room. The Doctor knelt before the alien as Evy knelt beside him, Canton shining a light on it as Rory and River entered as well.

"Who and what are you?" the Doctor asked.

"Silence, Doctor and Evy," the alien answered, a raspy voice filling their minds, "We are the Silence."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he recalled past adversaries speaking of the Silence, from Prisoner Zero to the Signora in Venice to the voice that had echoed through the TARDIS before it exploded…

"And Silence will fall," the Silent added, seeming to read their thoughts.

Evy glared, not at all happy with how the Silence had been harming people like the director and taking Amy, "Yes," Evy threatened, "Yes you will, if it's the _last thing_ I do."

No one noticed River and Rory tense at her promise.

~8~

They had sent Canton back to Area 51 with the Silent and Nixon to get the gunshot wound treated, Evy had tossed the man Amy's video phone as well as a communication device with instructions to try and get something out of the alien and send it to them.

Currently they were back in the warehouse, a small black and white TV set up, playing the launch of Apollo 11 in the background, "The target of the Apollo 11 astronauts," the TV announcer was speaking, "The moon, at liftoff, will be at a distance of 218,096 miles away. We've just passed the two minute mark of the countdown. T minus 1 minute, 54 seconds and counting."

The Doctor and River were kneeling on either side of the astronaut suit, River wearing gloves as she examined it with her scanner. Evy was sitting a few feet away on some boxes, watching the TV.

"It's an exoskeleton," River called, "Basically life support. There's about 20 different kinds of alien tech in here."

"Who was she?" the Doctor wondered aloud, "Why put her in here?"

"Put this on you don't even need to eat. See it processes sunlight directly…" Evy glanced worriedly at Rory who was a little ways off listening to Amy's recorder, "It's got built in weaponry, and a communication system that can hack into anything."

"Even the telephone network?" Evy called.

"Easily," River scoffed.

"Why phone the President?" the Doctor frowned.

"It defaults to the highest authority it can find."

"Thankfully that's not Max Capricorn eh?" Evy asked the Doctor, smiling just a bit, trying to lighten the situation. The Doctor smiled back at her, fiddling with the blue envelope he'd kept in his pocket since this whole thing began.

"The little girl gets frightened, the most powerful man on Earth gets a phone call," River sighed, not noticing the Doctor sniffing the envelope, "They're night terrors with a hotline to the White House…" she trailed, looking up to see him licking the envelope as Evy grimaced, though the Time Lady had to admit licking an envelope was a hell of a lot better than licking dead sand, "You won't learn anything from that envelope you know."

"Purchased on Earth," he turned to her, proving he had, in fact, learned _something_ , "Perfectly ordinary stationary, TARDIS blue. Summoned by a stranger who won't even show his face. That's a first for me, how about you?"

River just stood up and looked at him as he walked over, "Our lives are back to front. Your future's my past. Your firsts are my lasts."

"Not exactly what he asked you," Evy commented, hopping off the box and walking over to them as well.

"Ask something else then."

"What are the Silence doing raising a child?" the Doctor tried.

"Keeping her safe?" Evy could only guess.

River leaned down to continue her examination, "Even giving her independence."

"The only way to save Amy is to work out what the Silence is doing," the Doctor began, walking past Rory.

"I know," Rory remarked.

"And every single thing we learn about them brings us a step closer."

"Yeah, Doctor, I get it. I know."

Evy stepped forward, grabbing the Doctor's hands before he could start hitting himself as he seemed prone to do when he was trying to figure something out, "She might not be an ordinary little girl," she added, helping him think.

"Well, I'd say she's human, going by the life support software," River called, hesitating a moment.

"But…" the Doctor commented, looking at Evy, both of them sensing a but coming along.

"She climbed out of this suit," River added, getting their attention. They looked over to see her holding up a piece of frayed wire, "Like she _forced_ her way out," Evy frowned and stepped forward, picking up a piece as did the Doctor, "She must be incredibly strong."

"Incredibly strong and running away," the Doctor muttered, "I like her."

"Me too," Evy added, glancing up at the Doctor, thoughtful, "She reminds me a bit of you."

"Of me?" he frowned, standing up.

Evy nodded, "Running away, incredibly strong."

He smirked, "Oh, I know the arms," he joked.

"No," she shook her head, stepping up to him, "Here…" she placed her hand over the center of his chest, feeling his two hearts beating. He smiled at her, placing his hand over hers, holding it.

"Were you two _always_ like this when she was pregnant?" River cut in, eyeing them as they turned to her, "I mean, I've heard the stories but…" she just shook her head and smirked, "Thank God I wasn't here for most of it…I think you'd have driven me either mad or to a nunnery."

Evy just shook her head, amused, before stepping back, "We should try and find her," she sighed.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "I know, but how?"

Evy frowned in thought and placed her hand on her stomach, "You know...I have a feeling that she's going to find us first."

"Oh, Huston how do you read over?" the TV blared. The Doctor glanced over at it a moment before walking to it.

"Why does it look like a NASA spacesuit?" Rory asked as he glanced at the suit on the examination table.

"Because that's what the Silence do," the Doctor said, "Think about it. They don't make anything themselves, 'cos they don't have to," he turned to face them.

"They get the other life forms out there to do it for them," Evy finished.

"So they're parasites then?" River glanced at them.

"Super parasites," the Doctor agreed, "Standing in the shadows of human history since the very beginning," he shook his head in thought before walking over to Rory, "We know they can influence human behavior anyway they want…if they've been doing that on a global scale for thousands of years…"

"Then what?" Rory frowned.

"Then why have the humans suddenly decide to try for the moon?" Evy finished for him, catching onto his line of thought, as they all looked over at the TV.

"10. 9. Ignition sequence started. 6. 5. 4…" the TV announced.

"Because the Silence needed a spacesuit."

"…1.0. All engines on! Lift off. We have a lift off. 32 minutes past the hour, lift off on Apollo 11."

~8~

The Doctor looked down at River's communicator, going over the footage that Canton had sent him of the wounded Silent with Evy, as River continued to examine the suit. Rory sat a ways off, on the ground, Amy's recorder clutched in his hands.

"This suit…" River said after a moment, drawing Evy and the Doctor's attention, "It seems to be repairing itself. How is it doing that? Doctor, Evy, a unit like this, would it ever be able to move without an occupant?"

The Doctor and Evy glanced at one another a moment before walking over, "Why?" Evy frowned.

"Well, the little girl said the spaceman was coming to eat her…maybe that's exactly what happened."

Before the Doctor could reply to that, Amy's voice drifted over to them from Rory, "I love you," Rory's head snapped up at that, "I know you think it's him, I know you think it ought to be him, but it's not, it's you. And when I see you again, I'm gonna tell you properly, just to see your stupid face…" the Doctor glanced at Evy who nodded, the two of them walking over to the man's side, "My life was so boring before you just...dropped out of the sky..." the Doctor hesitated as Rory hung his head at that last bit, guessing who Amy was talking about, "Just…get your stupid face where I can see it alright? Ok? Ok."

Amy went quiet again as the Doctor and Evy sat down on either side of Rory, who only cast them a momentary glance, "She's safe for now," Evy told him comfortingly.

"No point in a dead hostage," the Doctor added…before realizing how that sounded.

' _You're_ so _lucky Rory's between us, otherwise I'd have smacked you one for that,_ ' Evy told him silently.

"Can't you save her?" Rory looked between them.

"We can track that signal back, take us right to her," the Doctor told him.

"Then why haven't you?"

"Because then what?" he sighed, frustrated, "We find her, and then what do we do? I know we would always just rush in there without a plan, making one up as we go along, but...we _can't_... _I_ can't risk that," he said, glancing over at Evy, before adding quietly, "Not now."

"This isn't just an alien invasion either," Evy added gently, "They _live_ here."

The Doctor nodded, "This is their empire. This is kicking the Romans out of Rome."

"Rome fell," Rory argued.

"Yes, it did," Evy agreed, "And so will they," the Doctor looked up at that, he hadn't exactly thought of the Silent's words in _that_ context before, he sort of thought it meant that they would fall over all the Universe, "Everything comes to an end. The Silence will fall, quite possibly by their own devices."

"You know," the Doctor said after a few moments of quiet, "I was there when Rome fell…we both were."

"So was I," Rory said, looking away.

"Personal question…"

"Seriously?" Rory looked up at the slightly unexpected turn in the conversation, " _You_?"

He nodded, "Do you ever remember it? 2,000 years, waiting for Amy?"

"The Last Centurion," Evy nudged his arm, a soft smile on her face.

"No," he answered.

"Are you lying?" the Doctor continued.

"Course I'm lying," Rory scoffed.

"Course you are," the Doctor agreed, "That's not the sort of thing anyone forgets."

"But I don't remember it all the time. It's like this door in my head. I can keep it shut."

His grip on the recorder tightened as Amy began to sob, "Please come get me! Come get me…"

The Doctor swallowed hard, getting up to go help River while Evy remained with Rory, "Rory…" she began after a moment, "The Doctor's an idiot."

"Yeah," he scoffed, "Right."

"No, I'm serious. Everything about him just screams 'idiot,' from his hair to his clothes to…"

"O…k…" Rory said slowly, not sure what Evy was getting at.

"But while he _is_ an idiot, he's by no means _stupid_ ," she finished, getting up as she patted his arm, "Think about it."

~8~

Amy awoke with a moan as she blinked, trying to clear the fog that had settled on her mind. She looked around blearily, seeing herself in some sort of craft. There were panels with orbs in the center of them set up around the room. And then she realized two things, she was strapped to a chair and the Silence were everywhere.

"Where am I?" she demanded, looking around, "Where is this?"

She struggled, trying to get out, but it only served to draw the attention of a Silent who turned to face her, "You are Amelia Pond."

"And you're ugly. Has anyone mentioned that to you?"

"We do you honor. You will bring the silence. But your part will soon be over."

"Whatever that means, you've made a bit mistake bringing me here," she smirked, "'Cos wait until you see what's coming for you now," she just _knew_ that the Doctor and Evy were on their way and then the Silence would be begging for mercy. Teach them to take _her_!

As though reading her thoughts, the Silent spoke again, "You have been here many days."

"No, I just got here, you just put me in here."

"Your memory is weak. You have been here many days."

"No. No, I can't have been."

"You will sleep now," it commented lightly, leaning forward, "Sleep…"

"No," she struggled to lean away from it, "No!"

"Sleep."

"Get off me! No! No!"

"Sleep!"

"No!"

Suddenly a wheezing sound filled the room as the TARDIS materialized just behind the Silence. They all turned to look as the Doctor stepped out, Evy right behind him, "Oh!" he looked around at the tech, "Interesting. Very Aickman Road. Seen one of these before."

"It was abandoned though," Evy agreed, looking at the very familiar setting of the pseudo-TARDIS from Craig's flat. Rory and River stepped out of the TARDIS behind her.

"Wonder how that happened," the Doctor muttered, before shrugging, "Oh well," he spun around to face the TARDIS as Evy kept her eye on the aliens, "I suppose we're about to find out. Rory, River, keep one Silent in eyeshot at all times," he turned back around, this time holding a small TV in his hands, "Oh! Hello, sorry, were you in the middle of something? Just had to say though…" he started walking forward, his eyes on the creatures as he felt Evy's presence behind him. He'd nearly begged her not to come out with him to face them but she had simply stated Amy was her friend too, an argument he'd never been able to counter before, "Have you seen what's on the telly?" he grinned, "Oh, hello Amy!"

"Are you ok?" Evy asked her as the Doctor turned to set up the small TV before Amy's chair. Amy could only nod.

"Want to watch some television?" he asked, looking up at the Silence approaching him, "Ah, no," he warned them, "Stay where you are," River quickly stepped forward with her gun aimed and ready, trained on the Silence, as the Doctor spun around to talk to the one behind him that Evy had been keeping in sight, "'Cos look at me, I'm confident. You want to watch that, me, when I'm confident. 'Cos that usually means Evy here has come up with a brilliant plan…and when she's being brilliant…" he turned to kiss the back of her hand, "Which is all the time, in case you were wondering," and then back to the Silent, "Run."

"Oh, and this is our friend River," Evy introduced as River stepped beside her.

"Nice hair, clever. Bit like my lovely Link."

"Has her own gun though."

"And," the Doctor spun around to make sure all the Silence had stopped, "Unlike us, she doesn't mind shooting people. We really shouldn't like that…kinda do a bit."

"Thank you sweetie," River smiled, looking over her shoulder at the aliens as she backed up to Evy. She was dead set on keeping the woman safe from the aliens, especially with her guess that they had something to do with what would lead the Doctor to his death and possibly Evy's as well.

"We know you're team players and everything. But she'll definitely kill the first three of you…"

"Oh, the first seven easily," River corrected.

"Seven really?" Evy asked her.

"Eight for you," River winked at her. Evy's smile tensed just a bit, seeing a dead seriousness in River's eyes. She seemed intent to make sure she killed as many as she could if it would protect Evy…which just made the woman wonder, why? What could she have possibly done for River that would warrant that sort of fierce protection?

"Stop it," the Doctor laughed, though feeling relieved that someone else was willing to protect his Link as well…especially now that it seemed like Evy had lost all sense of self preservation.

' _Like you can talk,_ ' she countered.

"Make me," River countered with a challenge.

"Yeah well maybe I will," the Doctor stuck his tongue out at her.

"Is this really important bickering?" Amy called, drawing all their attention back to the challenge at hand, "'Cos I feel like I should be high on the list right now."

"Yes," the Doctor shouted, "Right. Sorry! As we were saying our naughty friend here is going to kill the first three of you to attack plus him behind," he nodded at Rory who had managed to work his way around the Silence to Amy's side, trying to get her out, "So! Maybe you want to draw lots or have a quiz…" he walked around the console to eye each of the aliens, leaving and trusting Evy with River for a moment.

"So what's he got?" Amy asked Rory quietly.

"Something I hope," Rory muttered.

"Don't worry," Evy smiled at them, "There's always a thing with him."

"…or maybe you could just listen a minute," the Doctor continued, "'Cos all I really want to do is accept your total surrender and then we'll let you go in peace. Yes. You've been interfering in human history for thousands of years. Yes. People have suffered," he walked purposely up to the main Silent, the one who seemed to be in charge, "And died, but what's the point of two hearts if you can't be a bit forgiving now and then?" the Silent made no response, "Oh, the Silence. You guys take that seriously, don't you? Ok, you got us, we're lying. We're not _really_ gonna let you go that easily. Nice thought, but it's not Christmas. First…" he turned and hit a switch on the TV, turning it on, "You tell us about the girl."

"Who is she?" Evy asked, eyeing the alien, "Why is she important to you? Why do you need her?"

The Silent was silent.

The Doctor sighed, "Guys, sorry, but you're way out of time. Now!" he clapped his hand, "Come on, a bit of history for you…" he turned back to the TV, "Aren't you proud?" he extended the antennas, "'Cos you helped…" he tapped the TV as he turned to face them, leaning against it, "Now, do you know how many people are watching this, live on the telly? Half a billion!"

"Which is nothing when you think about it," Evy added, smirking, "Because the human race will spread out among the stars. _Billions_ and billions of them, for billions and billions more years."

"And every single one of them, at some point in their lives, will look back at this man, taking that very first step, and they will never _ever_ forget it."

They all turned to look at the astronaut preparing to step down onto the moon's surface. Evy couldn't help but smile in anticipation, laying a hand on her stomach where their child was kicking once more.

"Oh…" the Doctor said in thought as he pulled out the communicator Evy had made, "But they'll forget this bit," he turned to the Silent before lifting the device to his ear, "Ready?"

"Ready," came Canton's reply.

Evy kept her eye on the Silent as the Doctor turned to watch the TV.

"That's one small step for man…" the astronaut began…

When suddenly the wounded Silent appeared on the screen, "You should kill us all on sight…"

The Doctor grinned, knowing that the whole world had just seen the Silent giving that order while they were looking at it, planting the suggestion in the minds of all the humans on the planet, "You've given the order for your own execution and the _whole planet_ just heard you!"

"…one giant leap for mankind," the astronaut finished, stepping down.

The Doctor tossed the device to Evy, who couldn't help but smirk at the Silence. It wasn't _really_ an order for their execution, the Silence would never let it get that far and they were not about to commit genocide again. But now, the Silence would never be able to interfere with human life again. If they came across a human it would be their own fault. But for now, they could run and leave the humans alone. It was a warning with a terrible punishment should it be ignored.

"And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence!" the Doctor cheered, "You just raised an army against yourself. And now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day. How fast can you run? 'Cos today's the day the human race threw you off of their planet!" the Silent stepped forward, backing the Doctor up towards the TV, "They won't even know they're doing it. I think, quite possibly, the word you're looking for right now is…oops," he said, before his eyes widened, seeing the electricity crackle around the now furious Silent, "Run!"

"He means us!" Evy shouted at the humans, "Run!"

The Silence screeched as lightning started to surround them, gathering in their hands as they directed it at the small group. River immediately pulled Evy behind her and started firing while the Doctor pulled out his sonic, flashing it around.

"I can't get her out!" Rory shouted over at them. Evy twisted out of River's grasp and began to make her way over to them.

"Go!" Amy yelled at him, "Just go!"

"We are _not_ leaving without you!"

"Will you just get your stupid face out of here?" Amy cried.

Rory looked up at her, stunned, as she just looked at him, confused as to why he'd stopped in the middle of a shootout.

"Evy!" River called, her eyes trained on the girl, shooting the Silence behind her as she jumped to the side, avoiding a strike, "Run! Into the TARDIS! Quickly!"

Evy flashed Amy's restraints, unlocking them. She and Rory each took one of Amy's arms and helped her make her way to the TARDIS, the Doctor and River covering them.

"Don't let them build to full power!" the Doctor shouted at River, watching as Evy and Rory made it into the TARDIS with Amy.

"I know!" River shouted back, "There's a _reason_ why I'm shooting them!" their backs hit and River looked over her shoulder to see him waving his sonic around, "What are you _doing_?"

"Helping!"

"You've got a _screwdriver_ , go build a cabinet!"

"That's _really_ rude!"

River just nudged him towards the TARDIS with her bum, "Shut up and drive!"

He gave her one more glance before running into the TARDIS as River kept firing. Rory stood by the door about to run out and check what was happening when the Doctor ran in and over to the console. Evy, having helped Amy sit down and get settled, turned and helped him set the controls.

Suddenly there was a huge amount of firing. Rory quickly peeked out the doors to see River spin in a circle, taking out the rest of the Silence before kneeling to the ground with her gun ready just in case she missed one. After a moment she stood up, spinning her gun around her finger, and pushed it back into the holster on her leg, "They didn't see that did they?" she asked, smirking, "They get ever so cross."

She turned around just as Rory stepped out, "So…what kind of doctor are you?"

"Archaeology," she said, firing behind her, without even looking, at the Silent that had jumped up, "Love a tomb!" she called over her shoulder as she walked past him and into the TARDIS.

Rory just shook his head and turned to close the door behind them.

River ran up to the console and started to help the Time Lords pilot, "You can let _us_ fly it!" the Doctor grumbled.

"Evy?" River asked, "Sure. You? Maybe we could go where we're supposed to."

Amy looked over, feeling much better, only to see Rory standing by the door, still seeming stunned, "What's the matter with you?" she asked, walking down the steps, over to him.

"You called me stupid," he said.

"I _always_ call you stupid," she shook her head, not seeing what the big deal was.

"No, uh, my face," he said. Amy just frowned, looking rather confused, till something dawned on her. She looked down at his hand and opened it to see her recorder, blinking in the palm of his hand. She looked up at him as he looked bashful, "I wasn't sure who you were talking about, you know, me or…" his gaze flickered to the Doctor, piloting the TARDIS.

"Him?" Amy nearly scoffed.

"Well you did say 'dropped out of the sky…'"

"It's a figure of speech moron," she smiled, before leaning in and kissing him for good measure.

"Thanks?" he said as they pulled away.

"You're welcome," she smirked, before kissing him again, neither of them noticing the trio at the console, watching them with a smile.

"So was I right Rory?" Evy grinned as the duo headed up to the console a few moments later.

Rory laughed, "Yeah. An idiot, but not stupid."

"Who's an idiot?" the Doctor asked, looking between the two of them.

Evy just laughed, "You."

"Be careful or one day I might just take offense to that," he said, trying to be serious, though the light in his eye was anything but.

"You won't ever."

"How can you be so certain?"

"Because, even though you're an idiot," she held up her hand, keeping him from speaking, "You're MY idiot," she stepped closer, draping her arms around his neck, "You'll never be offended by being mine, will you?"

"Never ever," he smiled lightly, pecking her lips before turning to resume piloting the TARDIS. He didn't even notice River and Evy exchange amused glances at the fact that she'd called him an idiot...again.

~8~

Back in the Oval Office the Doctor was shaking Nixon's hand while Evy sat on the sofa beside Amy, Rory across from them while River leaned against the TARDIS.

"So we're safe again!" Nixon laughed, relieved.

"Safe?" the Doctor laughed, "No, of course you're not safe. There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world," Nixon's smile started to fade, "But! If you want to pretend you're safe just so you can sleep at night, ok, you're safe. But you're not really."

"Oh no…" Evy moaned. Everyone looked over at her, resting her hand on her abdomen, before mock glaring at the Doctor, "Apparently it likes when you're an idiot too."

Amy smirked, "Maybe it's just laughing?"

"God I hope so."

"Oi!" the Doctor cried, though the smile on his face grew wider. He rather liked the idea of being able to make their child laugh even in the womb. That meant he'd always be able to put a smile on its face…that was a nice notion.

Evy just shook her head fondly, telling him she was just as pleased by that thought as him.

He shot her a wide grin at that and turned to shake Canton's hand, "Canton, till the next one eh?"

"Looking forward to it," Canton grinned.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Canton," Evy said, getting up to stand beside the Doctor, before turning to Nixon, "You know…Canton just wanted to get married. He should be allowed to be with whoever he wants, don't you think?" she asked the last part to the Doctor.

The Doctor could only nod, "Hell of a reason to kick him out of the FBI."

"I'm sure something can be arranged," Nixon smiled.

"We're counting on it," the Doctor nodded, turning to leave when Nixon grabbed his arm.

"Uh, Doctor," he said as the Doctor and Evy turned, "Canton here tells me you and Miss Bird are...you're from the future. Hardly seems possible, but, I was wondering…"

"I should probably warn you," Evy cut in, "Neither of us answer many questions about the future."

"But I'm a President at the beginning of his time. Dare I ask, will I be remembered?"

"Oh Dicky, Tricky Dicky," the Doctor smiled almost sadly, "They're _never_ going to forget you," he turned and walked over to the TARDIS, Amy, Rory, and River walking before him. He turned and held the door open, "Say hi to David Frost for us."

"David Frost?" Nixon asked quietly.

Evy just shook her head once more and turned to Canton, giving him a brief hug, "Your partner, tell him I say hello," she whispered in his ear, pulling back and sending a wink at his stunned expression before jogging over to the Doctor and stepping into the TARDIS, the Doctor shutting the door behind them before dematerializing.

~8~

The Doctor and Evy were leaning on either side of the opening to River's cell in Stormcage, "You really could come with us," Evy suggested, "I'd love it."

"I escape often enough thank you," she sighed, knowing that if Evy or the Doctor knew why she was in prison they probably would never offer her that at this point in their timelines, "And I have a promise to live up to," she reached out and fixed the Doctor's bow-tie before turning to Evy and placing a strand of hair behind her ear, "You'll understand soon enough."

"Ok, up to you," the Doctor shrugged, taking Evy's hand and walking back towards the TARDIS, "See you next time. Call us!"

"What?" River laughed, "That's it?" they turned, confused, and walked over to her, "What's the matter with you two?"

"Have we forgotten something?" the Doctor frowned as they came to stand before her.

"Oh, shut up," she laughed and pulled them both into a very tight hug, kissing Evy's right cheek and then the Doctor's left before squeezing them tighter. They both glanced at each other from either side of River and awkwardly patted her back. She frowned as they pulled away stiffly, "What's wrong? You didn't kiss my cheek," she eyed them, "You always do that."

The Doctor blinked, unsettled by the intimate gesture from River and unsure of how to take that last statement.

"Um, we _might_ 'always' do that," Evy began, trying to be delicate and not say too much, "But... _we_ haven't...yet..."

"You...haven't?" River's eyes widened, realizing this was earlier in their timeline than she'd originally thought. And now, she'd not only just let something slip about their future, but she realized exactly when they would be seeing her next, what would happen...what she would do...

"Oh, look at the time, must be off," the Doctor said, glancing at his watch, not really seeing the time but feeling rather awkward, "Um, but it was very...nice...of you to tell us that. And the uh..." he tapped his left cheek, "It was…unexpected…it…"

"Doctor," Evy cut in, seeing River growing uncomfortable, "Just…stop…"

The look on River's face was heartbreaking, as though finding out how early in their timeline hurt her, and Evy would have given anything to know why it pained her to see that look on the woman's face.

"You know what they say," the Doctor continued, backing up with Evy, "There's a first time for everything. We just haven't got there quite yet."

They got in the TARDIS, Evy hesitating at the doorway as she swore she'd heard River whisper, "And a last time."

"Goodbye River," she offered the woman a small smile before shutting the door behind her.

~8~

"Uh Rory!" the Doctor called as he walked around the console to where Evy and Amy were standing, "I'm going to need thermo-couplings, green ones and blue ones."

"Ok," Rory nodded, heading towards the stairs to go get the requested items, "Hold on."

As soon as Rory was out of sight, the Doctor turned to lean against the console, looking at Amy, "So…"

"So?" Amy echoed as she leaned next to him, Evy on her other side.

"Are you ok?" Evy asked her. She'd been really worried that the Silence had done something to the woman during the short time they'd had her.

"Fine," she said, before frowning in thought, "Head's a bit...weird. There was lots of stuff I can't quite...remember…"

"Aftereffect of the Silence," the Doctor waved off her concern, "Natural enough."

"But that wasn't what we were asking," Evy said, "You told us you were pregnant."

"Yes," she nodded.

"Why?" the Doctor frowned.

"'Cos I was. I mean, I thought I was. Turns out, I wasn't. Which I'm a bit disappointed about actually, we could have been pregnant together," she nudged Evy's side.

"No, why did you tell _us_?"

"'Cos you were my friends. You're my best friends."

The Doctor and Evy couldn't help but smile at that, "Did you tell Rory about it?" Evy wondered.

Amy looked away, "No."

"Why would you tell us but not Rory?"

"Why do you think?"

"We don't know," the Doctor shrugged, Evy was just as confused.

"I travelled with you two, in the TARDIS, for _so long_ ," Amy sighed, "All that time...if I was pregnant for some of it, wouldn't it have had an effect?" Evy placed an arm around the girl in comfort, "I don't want to tell Rory that his baby might have three heads or it's got a time head or something…"

"What's a time head?" the Doctor smiled in jest.

"I don't know," Amy rolled her eyes, "But what if it had one?"

The Doctor chuckled, "A _time head_?"

"Shut up," Amy nudged him, "Alright?" before laughing herself before calling out, "Oi stupid face!"

"Uh, yeah?" Rory called. They looked over to see him walking back up the stairs, looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, holding Amy's recorder in his hand, "Hello."

"I'm taking that away from you if you're gonna listen in all the time," Amy threatened as she smiled at her husband.

"Ok, I suppose that's a fair point," he admitted, "But you should have told me that you thought you were pregnant. I'm a _nurse_. I'm good with pregnancy."

"Not, as it turns out, _that_ good," she said, walking over to him, "Will you stop being stupid?" she hugged him.

"Uh, no!" he grinned, "Never!" he quickly wrapped his arms around her and swung her around, making her laugh, "I'm never ever gonna stop being stupid!"

The Doctor and Evy smiled, watching the two for a moment before the Doctor clapped his hands, "So! This little girl…" he said as Evy grabbed the monitor and swung it around, "It's all about her. Who was she? Or we could just go off and have some adventures. Anyone in the mood for adventures? 'Cos I am. You only live once."

Evy knew what he was doing. He was running again. Whatever this little girl was, whatever she was going to be used for, scared him terribly…especially with them expecting a child. He really _was_ being extra cautious about everything. He wasn't going to go after the child not knowing anything about her…it hurt him to not be able to help a little girl, but he needed to know what was wrong with, what was different about, her first. He was going to learn what he could do to help and, when they learned that, they would not stop till they found her.

Amy and Rory exchanged a look before Amy smiled at them. Evy looked over at the monitor, setting the program both she and the Doctor were curious about. She watched as a picture of Amy arose on screen.

Amelia Pond

Full body scan in progress

Pregnancy…

Her smile faded as the screen began to flash between positive and negative. She glanced over at the Doctor who subtly walked over to her side, looking at the reading as well, both of them concerned. The Doctor put on a smile though and moved to pilot the TARDIS.

Evy watched him, when the baby kicked rather hard. She placed a hand on her stomach, staring off into the distance, a faint tickling in the back of her mind…something had happened…she didn't know what…but she could just feel it...and so could her child apparently…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you loving how/when the baby kicks? We'll definitely have a lot more of those coming along at very sweet moments knowing the Doctor :) 
> 
> And even more questions pop up in this chapter...what's up with Evy possibly, maybe, somewhat sensing the little girl? Why is River so protective of the Time Lady? Where does this tradition of giving River a kiss on the cheek come from? I know I altered that little scene in Stormcage, but River's been completely platonic, very good friends with Evy and the Doctor, so her kissing him would just be weird. I wanted to put something in that was platonic, but also a bit odd for the Time Lords given that they don't know why that is a tradition with River or who she is.
> 
> Next chapter (Bad Night)...Evy has an admirer.


	3. Bad Night

Amy yawned as she reached out and picked up the phone by the console as it rang, no Doctor or Evy in sight to answer it, "Hello?" she frowned, looking around, "She's not here, who's speaking?" she swatted at a fly a moment, distracted, "Uh, sorry, the prince of where?" she swatted it again, getting frustrated, "Which one? No, no, no, which prince, not which Wales. Um…" she smirked, seeing a rolled up newspaper and grabbed it, "What year is this?" before swatting it down, squashing the fly on the console.

Suddenly the door to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor, dressed in a black suit with a top hat, ran in, carrying a fishbowl with a large orange fish in it, "I think that's probably for me!"

"Actually, it's for Evy," Amy remarked as he ran up to her.

He paused, straightening, and looked at her, "Who is it?"

"Um…the Prince of Wales, from the uh," she frowned in thought, "47th century?"

His lips pursed a moment, "Hold this!" he shoved the fish to Amy and took the phone, "Hello!" he called, "Ah! Yes, everything's fine! Don't worry," he started to pace with the phone, "Well exactly…" he walked past Amy, who ducked under the wire, "Why should you be worrying? Who even mentioned worrying?" he pressed the phone to his shoulder and turned to Amy, "Don't mention this to Evy, not a word," before walking past her, making her duck again, "She's fine! No, your mum is…your mum is fine," he put it to his shoulder once more to look at her, "And you don't answer this phone. _I_ answer this phone."

"What about Evy?" Amy smirked. She'd heard about a few of the escapades they'd been on, how Evy seemed to attract male attention which just made the Doctor ridiculously jealous in a far too cute way. It seemed this was one of those times.

"Oh…shut up!"

"And where have you been?" she eyed him, "Where's Evy?"

"Party, just a party, Evy's still there, keeping an eye out," he turned back to the phone, "Um, yes, your mum is here actually…" he glanced at the fish, which made Amy look at it, "But she can't come to the phone at the moment. Well she's…busy. Well you know…the Commonwealth," he leaned over to whisper to the fish, "It's your son, mum, he wants to talk to you," he held the phone to the bowl before pulling back, "Oh we can't let him see you like this…well, _hear_ you, not that he _could_ hear you, you're a fish!" the phone rang again and he sighed into it, "Sorry, I've got another call coming in," he typed a quick transfer command, "Hello? There is not a bit of use yelling Ambassador! Your warrior chief is trapped in my TARDIS and until you've turned Her Majesty here," he tapped the glass, "Back into a human being, he's staying put. Don't worry. Perfectly safe…" he trailed off, spotting the paper and fly, "Just putting you on hold…" he put the phone down, picking up the paper to look at the fly, "What have you done?"

"I thought it was a fly…" Amy tried to explain.

"So much for the slaughterer of 10 million souls," he tossed it over his shoulder.

"What is going one?!"

"Evy and I were at a party. There was a slight incident."

"Wait, what, so you sneak out at night to parties? Is that why you're all dressed up?" he tugged his bow-tie self-consciously, "You _never_ dress up. Matter of fact, neither does Evy," especially not since her bump recently became more noticable during her 3-month stay in Area 51, not that you could really see it if you weren't looking, but now Evy could just make it out when she looked down, "Is River at the party? Did she convince Evy to go out?"

The Doctor took off his hat, "Oh, why would she be there?"

He started to walk around the console so Amy followed him, "Don't, just don't lie to me Doctor. You're rubbish at it."

"No, Evy and I do not sneak out at night to parties with…with…with River Song!" he dropped his hat on Amy's head.

"Hmm," she smirked, seeing the telltale signs of a lie, thank God Evy had told them to her, "How is she?" she followed him around the console again.

"Fine."

"See? Rubbish!"

"Sorry, but I am in the middle of a thing," he took the bowl and walked back to the doors, heading for the party.

There were two reasons for needing to get back to the party really. One, he was fairly certain that Evy and River had found the Ambassador by now so he really needed to get the fish to them. And second…Evy was wearing a stunning dress, much like the first one he'd ever seen her in when they'd gone to Lazarus Labs with Martha, but in a light lavender color and with slightly more of an umpire waist and less fitted, more flowing, though, if she turned the right way he could make out her bump and that made him smile, thinking that his child was there.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, cutting off his thoughts as he stopped at the door, "Doctor," she was softer now, worried, he turned back to her as she walked down the steps, "I…I need to talk to you…there is a reason why I couldn't sleep..."

"…RORY!"

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"You've got the serious face on," he pointed at her, "I always shout for Rory when you've got the serious face. RORY! She's having an emotion!"

"What?" Rory called, pulling on a robe as he ran into the console room, "What's wrong Amy?"

"Why are you calling him?" Amy whispered.

"Evy's not here and it's his turn," he explained as he moved to leave.

Amy rounded on Rory, "You have _turns_?"

"NOOOO!" the Doctor suddenly shouted, staring, wide eyed, at the fishbowl, "We've the wrong fish…I've taken the wrong fish!" he threw the door open, "Evy! River! We've got the wrong fish!"

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Evy shouted back and they could hear River laughing in the background.

The Doctor turned to Amy and Rory, both staring at him, "Uh, look, sorry you two, I've made a mistake. Evy and I have got three hours to save the Commonwealth."

"What happens in three hours?" Rory asked.

The Doctor just plucked his hat back from Amy, "The pet shops open."

He strode out, shutting the door behind him. Amy and Rory exchanged a look before a soft whack sounded outside followed by the Doctor whining 'Ow!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like this little extra chapter? I don't know why, but I really liked the Bad/Good/First/Last night mini-episodes and wanted to do them again with Evy and the Doctor. 
> 
> Sort of Evy-lite, I know, but I plan for Good Night to be a bit Doctor-lite to make up for that, balance out :)
> 
> There's no embedded image for this chapter though, because Evy wasn't there the image would have just been the episode with nothing added in so I didn't see a point ;)
> 
> Next chapter...quite a few past adventures are remembered. The Doctor needs to stop talking...again. Evy make some threats. And the pirates seem to think she's a witch, literally.


	4. The Curse of the Black Spot (Part 1)

It was a tight squeeze, but between Evy and the Doctor they'd managed to land the TARDIS below deck of a 17th century ship. They'd picked up a distress call…which was odd as there wasn't any Earth tech in the 17th century that could reach out to the TARDIS, but they'd gone anyway. They weren't ones to ignore someone in need of help.

As they stepped out of the box they could hear a scream above deck. They rushed forward, hearing a group of footsteps sound above them, moving to check out the scream as well, "Same as all the others," someone said, "No sign of a struggle. No bones or blood."

"We're shark bait," another man said, "Every single one of us. Stuck on the ocean. Waiting."

They walked under a grate as the first man spoke again, "Until the wind changes."

They climbed onto a box, just high enough for the Doctor to bang against the grate twice.

"What's that?" the first man shouted, they could see him now, whipping out a gun as the men ran around the grating.

"It's the creature, she's returned!" the second man exclaimed.

The men hesitated touching the grating at that, so the Doctor gave a mighty shove and the grate burst open to reveal the four of them standing there. Amy and Rory looked nervous at the gun being pointed in their face by the first man but the Doctor just smiled, his arm around Evy's waist.

"Yo ho ho!" he greeted, grinning. The men just stared at him till his grin faded, turning more embarrassed, "Or does nobody actually say that?"

"I'd go with that," Evy whispered to him as they looked up at the men.

~8~

The first man they had seen, the one with the gun, whom they had learned was the captain, was leaning against a chair in his quarters, one of his crewmates beside him while the other three stood behind the quartet, blocking their escape.

"We made _no_ signal," the captain stressed to them.

"Our sensors picked you up," the Doctor countered, "Ship in distress."

"Sensors?"

"It's the 17th century dear," Evy reminded him.

"Yes…ok!" he nodded, "Problem word."

"Our ship automatically…" Evy began, fishing for a word.

"Noticed," the Doctor supplied, trying to help, "Ish…"

Evy rolled her eyes at him before finishing, "That your ship was having some bother."

"That big blue crate?" the captain frowned.

The Doctor just snapped his fingers and pointed at the captain with a smile.

"That is more magic Captain Avery," the man beside the captain said, "They're spirits!" he pointed at them with a hat in his hand, "How else would they have found their way below decks?"

"Well," the Doctor pointed at the man before turning to Evy, "I want to say multidimensional engineering."

"Given that they don't know what sensors are," Evy countered, "You probably shouldn't."

He nodded, agreeing, before turning to Avery, "Look! We're the Doctor and Evy," he introduced as Evy nodded her greeting, "This is Amy," he pointed to her, standing on their right, and then crossed his arms to point at Rory on the other side, "Rory. We're sailors!" he stepped forward to playfully punch Avery in the shoulder before turning around to face them again, "Same as you!"

' _Doctor…_ ' Evy began, eyeing the gun that the captain had drawn and aimed at the back of the Doctor's head.

"Arg," the Doctor said, before turning to see the gun in his face, "Except for the gun thing…" and then looked up at Avery, "And the beardy-ness."

"You're stowaways," Avery stated, "Only explanation."

Evy sighed and turned to the Doctor, "Why are we _always_ stowaways on ships? It's like the _Titanic_ during that one Christmas…"

"I know," he nodded, stepping back beside her, "Getting rather old isn't it?"

"Eight days we've been stranded here," Avery continued, deciding to ignore the strange talk between the man and woman before him, even their companions seemed lost, "Becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed."

"So what do we do with them?" the man beside him asked.

"Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality," Avery smirked.

The Doctor started to smile, ' _See, everything worked out just fine._ '

' _Oh don't_ say _that…_ ' Evy groaned in his mind.

~8~

"Just _stop_ talking!" Evy called from her position on deck, being held back by a pirate, as were Amy and Rory. The Doctor was being pushed out onto the plank while the pirates laughed.

The Doctor gave her a bashful smile before mumbling to himself, "I suppose laughing like that is in the job description. Can you do the laugh?" he checked his watch, "Check. Grab yourself a parrot…" he put his arms over his head as though he were about to dive, "Welcome aboard," he shifted his weight, making the plank bounce.

Amy looked over at Evy, expecting her to be more concerned that the Doctor was about to jump into shark infested waters, only to see the woman shaking her head amusedly at the Doctor's antics. The woman in question already knew that the Doctor had _no_ intention of jumping.

"Stocks are low," Avery told him, "Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need four more empty bellies to fill. Take the doxies below!" he turned to the two men holding Evy and Amy who began to pull the two women away.

"Hey!" Rory called, struggling.

"Wait…" the Doctor tried to turn back, but the captain and his first mate began waving objects at him, keeping him at bay.

"To the galley, set them to work," Avery ordered, "They won't need much feeding."

"Rory!" Amy shouted, "Little help!"

"Yeah, hey," Rory pointed at the man, "Listen, right, she's not a doxy…"

"I don't think she meant to just tell them off," Evy remarked as she was shoved below deck.

"But thanks anyway," Amy rolled her eyes at Rory as she too was forced under the ship.

"If you're lucky, you'll drown before the sharks can take a bite!" Avery turned back to the Doctor.

"If this is just because I'm a captain too, you know, you shouldn't feel threatened, your ship is much bigger than mine," he told Avery, "And I don't have the cool boots or a hat even. I tried to get another fez but Evy won't let me."

Avery, growing frustrated with the Doctor's stalling, pulled out his gun and aimed it at the Doctor, "Time to go."

The Doctor shuffled his feet, "A bit more laughter guys!"

The men started laughing.

~8~

Below deck Evy helped straighten Amy as she jumped down the ladder and into water that was a little more than ankle deep, "Whoa," Evy laughed, "Watch out."

"Thanks," Amy smiled at the woman, regaining her balance, "What do we do?"

Evy looked around, quickly scanning the area before smiling and rushing over to a chest. She opened it to see a mess of swords stashed away. She looked up at Amy, "Ever been a pirate when you were a kissogram Amy?"

Amy just looked at the sword before smirking, her eye catching something off to the side. Evy followed her gaze and saw a blue coat and triangular hat hanging from a nail, "First time for everything."

~8~

' _Doctor…_ ' Evy's voice drifted over to him, ' _There are no crew down here._ '

' _None?_ ' he frowned, stopping in his shuffling and standing straight on the plank, ' _None at all?_ '

' _No one. The ones on deck are the only ones. And this is an awfully big ship…_ '

He nodded and turned on the plank to look at Avery, "Where are the rest of the crew? This is a big ship, big for five yeah? I suppose the rest of them are hiding someplace and…" he pinched his nose, making his voice nasally, "They're all gonna jump out and shout boo?"

"Boo!" came a shout from two people.

The men spun around to see Amy and Evy standing behind them. Amy was wearing a blue jacket and black hat, holding a sword aimed at the captain while Evy stood behind her, dressed in her typical 'western' attire, dark blue jeans tucked in her black boots with a purple shirt under her black jacket, her sonic resting in the holster around her waist.

"Throw the gun down," Amy threatened.

The Doctor ran back down the plank to see what exactly was happening, only to see the captain toss his gun to the floor at Amy's feet. Amy pushed it behind her with her foot to Evy, who grabbed it and aimed it at the crew, while Amy focused on the captain. The Doctor couldn't help but think that he really shouldn't find the sight of his Link holding a gun as attractive as he did.

"The rest of you," Evy said, taking careful aim but also managing to look at ease with the gun despite the twisting in her stomach to even make a show of using one, which only clued the crew into the fact that this was _not_ her first time handling a weapon, "Kneel."

"Amy, Evy," the Doctor spoke up, "What are you doing?"

"Saving your life," Evy smirked at him, "Again."

"Ok with that are you?" Amy raised an eyebrow.

"Put down the sword," Avery nearly growled, "A sword could kill us all girl!"

"Yeah, thanks, that's actually why I'm pointing it at you," Amy said, pointing the sword more at the man in question.

Suddenly one of the crew men attacked her, swatting the sword away with a stick. Amy managed to defend herself nobly, jumping back and managing to swing at the man as well.

"Oh!" the Doctor jumped forward, trying to get down off the plank, "Hang on!"

Unfortunately, as soon as he jumped onto the deck, he was grabbed by Avery and held back.

Amy stabbed at one of the men and he jumped back as the rest gathered around. One man started forward but Evy shot at his feet, forcing him back. Amy smiled her thanks at the girl before turning to another man and pointing the sword at him, nearly laughing as he recoiled.

The Doctor grinned as Amy began to swish her sword back and forth till one man lunged forward. Amy did her best to avoid being hit by the man's stick while another man ran to Evy, grabbing her wrist and managing to pull the gun away from her, but she just shoved him back into another man as Amy knocked her opponent to the ground and kicked him.

A tall black man ran forward, swinging a rope around his hands. Amy ran back onto an upper level of the deck so the man turned his attention on Evy. He threw the rope out at her, catching her around the left arm.

"Evy!" the Doctor shouted, struggling in Avery's arms.

Evy just wrapped her arm around the rope even more before pulling it towards her. The man, not expecting the motion, was pulled forward as well, straight into Evy's fist as she threw a powerful right hook at him, using his momentum against him.

The man staggered back just as Amy swung down past them on a rope she'd grabbed from one of the sails. She slashed at the man for attacking her friend, cutting his hand before landing on a barrel. She stood there, her sword brandished, just waiting for any other man to make a move, but they were all staring at the black man.

"You have killed me," he said, looking up from his hand.

"No way," Amy scoffed, "It's just a cut. What kind of rubbish pirates are you?"

"One drop," Avery said, glaring at Amy, "That's all it takes, one drop of blood and she'll rise out of the ocean."

"Come on, I barely even scratched him. What are you all in such a huff about."

Another man stormed towards her so she grabbed the rope again and moved to swing but the man grabbed her legs, pulling her off the rope. She dropped the sword and Rory ran forward to try and catch it, only succeeding in cutting his hand as well, "Ow!" he exclaimed, holding his hand, "AH!"

The men ran forward and grabbed Evy, Amy, and Rory once more, holding them back.

Rory frowned, seeing a black spot appear in the middle of his palm, "Uh, Doctor," he held up his hand and pointed at the mark, "What's…what's happening to me?"

Evy frowned, squinting as she tried to see the mark while still being held back.

"She can smell the blood on your skin," Avery told him, "She's marked you for death."

Rory tapped his ear and pointed at him, "She?"

"A demon. Out there in the ocean."

"Ok!" the Doctor grinned, managing to worm his way out of Avery's grip at the man's concern for his crew, "Groovy! So not just pirates today. We've managed to bagsy a ship where there's a demon popping in!" he started to walk towards Rory before turning to Evy, "Gotta say, I liked that much more than River with a gun."

Evy smiled, "Thanks love…but, um, Rory?" she nodded back to him.

"Right!" he nodded, snapping himself out of his thoughts, and walking back to Rory to look at his hand, "Very efficient," he looked up at him, "I mean, if something's gonna kill you it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you…" he patted Rory's cheek, when a sort of ethereal singing started to echo around them.

They all looked around, the men loosening their grips in fear.

"Quickly now block out the sound!" the black man said, putting his hands over his ears.

"What?" Rory looked at him, confused.

"The creature," Avery murmured, backing away from the ocean and towards his crew, "She charms all her victims with that song."

"Oh great, so put my fingers in my ears, _that's_ your plan?" Rory asked incredulously, tapping the Doctor's shoulder as he looked around for the source, "Doctor, come on, let's go…" the Doctor just looked at him as Rory started to stutter, "Back to the, uh…"

"Rory?" Evy frowned, concerned, as the man staggered and swayed.

"Oh…back to the, uh…" he started to laugh as they eyed him oddly.

"That's the music," the black man smiled dreamily, laughing as well.

"It's working on them, look," one of the crew said, making his way to the captain's side.

"You!" Rory suddenly turned and looked at Amy, grabbing rope and leaning on it, "Are so _beautiful_!" he fell forward a bit, Evy jerking to make sure he didn't fall completely but he held onto the rope.

"What?" Amy asked, leaning back.

"Oh no, I love your get up!" Rory continued as the Doctor sent Evy a confused look which she returned, "No, it's great," he stepped back, looking her up and down, "You should dress as a pirate more often. Huh? Hey, hey! Cuddle me shipmate," he moved forward to hug her.

"Rory stop," Amy struggled to get him off her.

"Everything! Is totally brilliant, isn't it? Huh? Look at these brilliant pirates. Look at their brilliant beards!" he pointed to the pirate next to them, the one who had been holding Amy but was slowly backing away from the deranged man. Rory suddenly stepped back, his face now thoughtful, "I'd like a beard," he stumbled back, falling against the black man, "I'm gonna grow a beard!"

"You're not," Amy said firmly, though concerned and confused for her husband.

"Music turns them into fools," Avery commented to the Doctor and Evy, who both just nodded at that, as they looked at Rory and the man who were both laughing hysterically at something.

"Oh my God," Amy gasped.

They spun around to see a greenish light appear in the water off the side of the ship, the light starting to drift upwards. The Doctor stared at it curiously, his hand taking Evy's in case they needed to start running again. Rory and the black man, however, just leaned forward, staring at it in awe, when a figure suddenly shot out of the light and flew into the air. It was a woman, with black hair, wearing a white dress, bathed in the light green light. Evy watched as the black man held his hand out towards the figure as did Rory, though Amy was pulling him back, ignoring him as he swatted at her hands.

The figure landed and walked towards them, the Doctor watching with a grin, utterly fascinated as to what was happening, while Amy struggled to pull Rory back. Evy stepped closer to the woman, helping her keep her husband in check. The black man stepped past the Doctor who half-heartedly tried to pull him back, still not sure what was going on.

The man grinned like a fool as he walked towards the figure, holding her hand out and singing. He reached out to her as did Rory, but as soon as he laid a finger on her, he burst into ashes, disintegrated. The crew jerked back in fear, as did Amy, Evy, and the Doctor, though more from shock than anything. The only one not pulling away was Rory, who was still trying to get to the woman and finally managed to pull past the Doctor, Amy still hanging onto his arm.

He walked towards the woman, reaching out to her, till Amy shoved him back and over to Evy who grabbed Rory, pulling him back, while Amy stood up to the woman, "Sorry but he is spoken for!" Amy glared at the green woman.

The woman suddenly turned red and screeched at her, sending Amy flying backwards.

"Amy!" the Doctor ran to her side, helping her up, "Amy!"

The woman turned light green once more, calm.

"Everyone into the hold!" Evy shouted. The crew ran below deck just as the Doctor pulled Amy up. Evy pulled with all her might and just managed to drag Rory along with her.

"Hey!" he shouted as she tugged, "Hey!"

~8~

They clambered down, into the hold, some water around them, very similar to where Amy and Evy had been forced. There were boxes scattered around. The Doctor stepped forward, Evy along with him, after passing Rory to Amy, to look around.

"What is that thing?" Amy asked as Rory struggled to get back up the deck.

"The legend," Avery answered, "The siren. Many a merchant ship laden with treasure has fallen prey to her. She's been hunting us ever since we were becalmed. Picking off the injured."

"Like a shark," a man said, "A shark can smell blood."

"Ok," the Doctor grinned, turning to face them, "Just like a shark...in a dress...and singing...and green. A green, singing shark in an evening gown."

"Is this going to be another hay-like needle of death event?" Evy remarked, thinking back to how odd his tangents could go.

"I'll stop," he bowed his head with a pout. She just gave him a peck on the cheek, making him smile once more.

"The ship is cursed!" Avery shouted.

"Cursed, right," Evy scoffed.

"I know," the Doctor agreed, "It's big with humans," he turned to the captain, "Means bad things are happening but you can't be bothered to find an explanation."

"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Rory said to Amy, taking her face in his hands as she held him to her.

The Doctor just patted him on the shoulder, he'd be fine soon enough, whatever happed to him would wear off eventually.

"Actually, I think you'll find she isn't," Amy told him, hugging him to her so she could talk to the Doctor over Rory's shoulder, "We have to leave, right now."

"If that crate of yours really is a ship…" Avery began.

"Well, it's not propelled by the wind," the Doctor said.

"Show me!" Avery demanded, pulling out his gun, "Weigh anchor. Make it sail."

The Doctor turned around to see the gun in his face once more, "And the gun's back. You're big on the gun thing aren't you? Freud would say you're compensating," Evy snorted at that, "Ever met Freud? No?" he then threw his head back and sighed, "Comfy sofa…"

"As I recall," Evy cut into his reminiscent thoughts, thinking back herself, "I bought him that sofa…"

"Leave the cursed one captain," a slightly plump man said as the captain turned to him, "The creature can have him."

"Yes, please," Rory nodded.

"We don't want the siren coming after us," Avery had to agree.

Suddenly the plump man started to yell, they all jumped back as he stuck out his leg to reveal a leech.

"It's a leech!" Amy yelled.

"Get out of the water now!" Evy shouted as they all scrambled back onto the crates and out of the water.

"Ah!" Rory shouted as well, clearly not knowing why everyone was yelling but doing it anyway, as Amy pulled him with her, "Ah!"

"It's bitten me!" the man complained, pulling it off his leg, "I'm bleeding," he threw the leech into the water and looked at the spot now on his hand, he held it up for them to see.

"So she wants _blood_?" Evy breathed, confused.

" _Why_ does she want blood?" the Doctor asked.

"What were you saying about leaving the cursed ones behind?" Amy retorted, glaring at the plump man who had been 'cursed' as well.

"It's ok, we're safe down here," the Doctor reassured them, "No curse is getting through three solid inches of timber."

"Really?" Evy rolled her eyes, turning to glare at him, "Parasitic alien on Midnight! Finitio glass! Steel!"

"Yes but that was another planet. What could happen in the 17th century?"

"Don't say…" Evy began, before something caught her eye, " _That_ is what could happen," she nodded behind him and the Doctor spun to see the siren appear out of the water.

"Oh!" he jumped back, turning so that he was standing in front of Evy, "Uh, hello again…"

Rory started to reach for the siren as did the plump man. The Doctors started to step back, forcing Evy back as well when the man ran past him. He reached out, trying to hold the man back but it was too late. He was only able to grab the man's hat as he touched the siren and burst apart.

The Doctor turned and started to usher everyone back towards a door, out of that room, putting the hat on his head as both he and Evy helped Amy shove Rory along. He quickly locked the door behind them and spun around.

"Safe?" Amy scoffed as she worked harder on holding her husband back.

"I have my good days and my bad days," he remarked as Evy swiped the hat off his head.

"How did she get in?" Avery asked.

Evy quickly scanned the hat with her sonic, reading the results, the only thing that was on it was water, "Bilge water."

"She's using water like a portal," the Doctor reasoned, "A door. She can materialize through a single drop."

"If that's the case, we need to find a dry place around here."

"Well, thank God we're not in the middle of the ocean," Amy rolled her eyes.

"Did you see her eyes?" Rory asked Amy as the Doctor snatched the hat back from Evy and put it on his head, "Like crystal pools…"

"You are in enough trouble," Amy warned him.

"The magazine," Avery said.

"What?"

"It's the armory of a ship where they keep the gun powder," Evy explained.

"It's dry as a bone," Avery nodded.

"Good, let's go there!" the Doctor stepped forward, only to have Avery's gun in his face…again…

" _I_ give the orders," Avery growled at him.

"Ah…" he nodded, eyeing the gun, "Worried 'cos I'm wearing a hat now…" he quickly took it off and placed it on Evy's head.

"Oh thanks," she rolled her eyes at him, but made no move to remove the hat.

He grinned and took her hand, pulling her past Amy, who had resorted to pulling Rory along by the arm, "Nobody touch anything sharp!" he called as he led them away after the captain.

"Come on Rory!" Amy grumbled as she tugged her husband forward.

"Quickly man!" Avery shouted at his crewmate who was searching for the keys to the armory on his key ring.

"I can't…" the man shook his head, "The key, it's gone captain."

"How can it have gone?"

The Doctor tilted his head, noticing something, before leaning forward and pushing the door open. The men watched as it swung open, not even locked, "I suppose we're not the only ones who thought of this," Evy commented, whoever else it was had probably nicked the key.

The Doctor nodded along with her thoughts before stepping in, followed by Evy and then Avery and the crew, all of them looking around carefully.

"Barricade the door," Avery commanded to a man beside him as soon as Amy and Rory had entered, before turning to another man, "Be careful with that lantern," he commented. The man nodded and took a lantern down, handing it to Avery, "Every barrel is full of powder."

"Who's been sleeping in my gun room?" the Doctor wondered.

' _Do you hear that?_ ' Evy whispered to him in his mind. He listened carefully, hearing a faint coughing grow steadily louder till even the humans could hear it.

Avery turned and stormed over to a barrel, placing the lantern down and putting his gun away before he lifted the lid. A moment later he pulled a young boy out of the barrel, "You fool!" he shouted, turning to hold the boy against the wall while everyone looked over at him, "You fool boy! What are you doing here?"

"Who is he?" one of the men asked.

The Doctor glanced back, confused, "What, he's not one of the crew?"

"No," Avery answered for the man, sighing, "He's my son."

~8~

Avery was sitting on a barrel next to the boy, Toby, while the crew and the others stood back, watching, "What in God's name possessed you boy?" Avery demanded of his son, "Your mother will be searching for you!" Toby bowed his head, looking away. Avery sat back a moment later, realizing what had happened, what must have happened, "When?"

"Last winter," Toby answered, looking up, "Fever. She told me all about you. How you were a captain in the Navy. An honorable man, she said, how I'd be proud to know you," he coughed, "I've come to join your crew."

"I don't want you here."

"You can't send me back," Toby countered, earning a small smile from the Doctor, who could only wrap his arm around Evy, resting his hand against her stomach, "It's too late. We're a hundred miles from home."

"It's dangerous here," Avery told him, "There is a monster onboard. She leaves a mark on men's skin…"

"The black spot?"

The Doctor, Evy, and Avery looked at him sharply as the boy just held up his hand to reveal the spot. Avery grabbed the boy's hand in his and looked at it as the Doctor stepped forward to do the same.

Toby could only cough.

~8~

Everyone was sitting around, trying to think of what to do now. Avery was leaning by the Doctor and Amy, who were sitting on a barrel in the back. Rory was a few feet in front of them on another barrel, examining his hand, seeming far more with it than he had been.

"There's nothing wrong with the boy," Avery muttered, "He has no scars."

"Yup, ignore my last theory," the Doctor sighed.

Amy just patted him on the stomach, "He has his good days and his bad days."

"It can't be just blood then," Evy called. They looked over to where she was sitting beside Toby, her arm around the boy as he coughed, "Toby's ill so she must be coming for all the sick and injured."

The Doctor nodded, seeing her reasoning, "The wounded. Like a hunter chooses the weakest animal…"

"Ok, look, he's got a fever," Amy said, getting them back to the facts, "The siren knows it."

"Humans…" the Doctor shook his head as he looked on at Evy, sitting with the boy, "Second rate," a Time Lord's biology protected them from most diseases, the two hearts helping to burn off an illness faster if they did get sick. It was why he wasn't concerned with Evy sitting near a boy with Typhoid Fever, they were basically immune, "Damage too easily. It's only a matter of time before everyone gets bruised…" he trailed off, seeing the captain glaring at him. He cleared his throat, "My ship, it can get us all away from here. You and me, we'll fetch it," he told the captain, standing up, "Let's go…"

Avery pulled the gun again.

Evy stood up and took a step towards them, not really comfortable with a gun being aimed at the Doctor. She never was and, even though he seemed unaffected as this was probably something like the tenth time it had happened since they arrived, it twisted her stomach in knots to see it every time.

"You're not the captain here," Avery nearly growled, "Remember?"

The Doctor looked over to see Toby about to lift a lid on a barrel of water. A glowing green hand shot up out of it.

"No!" Evy shouted as she lunged towards the barrel at the same time as the Doctor, both of them struggling to get the lid back on.

"The water's dangerous!" Avery yelled at Toby, "That's how she gets through. One touch of her hand and you're a dead man!"

The Doctor frowned at the man and put a comforting hand on Toby's shoulder.

Evy, however, glared at the man and stepped forward, putting and arm around the boy, "It's not his fault! He wasn't exactly there when we discovered how she gets in. How is he to know?" she turned to Toby, running a hand through his hair, "It's alright Toby, just be careful, yeah?"

Toby nodded.

"We're all cursed if we stay aboard," the man who had the keys said.

"It's not a curse," the Doctor and Evy said at the same time.

"Cursed means game over," the Doctor continued, "Cursed means we're helpless. We are NOT helpless. Especially since we've got Evy, and believe me, if I can't get us out of here she most likely will. So, Captain, what's our next move?"

The captain looked up, shocked that the Doctor had actually gone to him for an order instead of taking charge.

~8~

Avery put his mermaid medallion around Toby's neck for protection, "Wait with the boy," he ordered his men.

"Captain, we're all in danger here," one of the men stated as he and his partner worked on unblocking the door.

"I said, wait and barricade the door after we've gone," the captain repeated, more serious than before, leaving no room for argument.

"You sure you wanna go?" Amy asked the Doctor as she, Rory, and Evy stood before him.

"We have to get Rory and Toby away," he said, "She's out there now, licking her lips, boiling the sauce bin, grating the cheese…"

"Ok…" Amy trailed as Evy just shook her head at him, "Well, remember, if you get an itch, don't scratch too hard."

"We've all gotta go sometime," he shrugged as Amy and Rory exchanged a look. He stepped towards Rory, "There are worse ways than having your face snogged off by a dodgy mermaid."

Rory laughed at that as the Doctor patted him on the shoulder and turned to Evy, "Be careful," she whispered to him as she reached forward to hug him, "I don't like it when I'm not there to look out for you, keep you out of trouble."

They had discussed it before, _he_ was going to get the TARDIS with Avery while _she_ stayed there. With Rory and Toby victim to the siren's spell and two obvious pirates with them, he felt better if she was with them to keep an eye out.

"I'm always careful," he said quietly in her ear, earning a laugh from her.

She pulled back, "If I find _one cut_ on you…" she began, threatening lightly, "You'll not be getting any kisses for a week."

He pouted at that but nodded and stepped back. He leaned forward and quickly gave her a peck, "Just in case I end up getting cut off," he smiled at her before winking.

He turned and headed out of the door with Avery, the door shutting and the men barricading it as it shut behind them.

"Want to draw lots for who's in charge then?" Avery joked, though there was a serious note in his voice.

The Doctor just looked around, "Darkness, demon…you can have first go," he patted the man on his stomach.

Avery laughed as they began to creep forward. A moment later the Doctor reached out as Avery nearly tripped and almost cut his hand on a partially raised nail beside him. The Doctor managed to get his arm around the man's middle and his other hand to grab Avery's, keeping it raised above the nail. He straightened him up.

"Nearly…" Avery trailed, swallowing hard at how close he'd come to being a victim of the siren so early in their mission. The Doctor just patted him on the shoulder and they walked on again.

Eventually, as carefully and slowly as the Doctor could…which ended up being no time at all in his mad dash to the TARDIS…they were running into the control room, the Doctor heading straight for the console as Avery looked around.

"By all the…" Avery breathed.

The Doctor spun around to face him, "Let me stop you there. Bigger on the inside. Don't mind, do you, if we just skip to the end of that moment? Oh, and sorry, I lied by the way," he added, turning back to the console as Avery joined him, still looking around, "When I said yours was bigger. Kitchen that way…" he pointed to the right, "Choice of bathrooms," he turned around and pointed to the right, "There," and the left, "There," and behind him, "And there."

~8~

Toby was sitting by the back wall, sucking on a small candy Evy, who was sitting beside him again, had given him, a throat lozenge to help with his cough, while Amy paced before them. Rory sighed and walked over to her, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"The most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" Amy asked quietly. She was _so_ used to hearing Rory only call _her_ that, hearing him refer to anyone like that made her feel very sad.

"Tell me I didn't really say that…" he groaned, embarrassed, earning a laugh from Amy and a smile from Evy.

Amy was about to say something to her husband when she saw the two crewmen by the door, working on unblocking it, "What's going on?"

"We're not staying here to molly coddle the boy," one of the men said, "The Captain's gone soft, it's time for us to leave."

"Excuse me?" Evy demanded as she got up.

~8~

The Doctor was typing something into a keypad on the TARDIS while Avery looked around at the rest of the console, "What's this do?" he asked, pointing at something.

The Doctor popped up, "That does very, very complicated…" he dinged a bell, "That does sophisticated…" he gestured at something else, "That does whoa, amazing! And that…" he motioned at the rotor, "Does wiz-bang-far-too-technical-to-explain."

_'No it isn't,_ ' Evy remarked in his head, ' _You're just horrid at doing it.'_

"Wheel?" Avery asked, pointing at a ball with knobs sticking out of it.

' _If you say wibbly something…_ ' Evy threatened him lightly.

"Atom accelerator," he answered honestly this time.

"It steers the thing?" Avery frowned, trying to get his bearings about the ship.

"No!"

' _It does help a bit._ '

"Sort of," he amended, "Yes."

' _No._ '

"Wheel," Avery nodded, pointing at random things on the TARDIS, "Telescope. Astrolabe. Compass," the Doctor looked up at him, slightly impressed, as was Evy, "A ship's a ship."

' _I think I'm starting to like him._ '

~8~

Toby stood up and looked at the men, "He told you to wait, you dog," the men looked at him, "He's your captain. A naval officer. You're honor bound to do as he tells you."

"Honor bound?" the man scoffed, "Do you _know_ what kind of ship this is?" Amy quickly put her arm around Toby, "Do you know what your father does?"

"Don't listen to him Toby," Amy whispered.

"We sail under the black flack, the Jolly Rodger."

Toby lunged at him, "Liar!" Amy and Evy quickly pulled him back, "He's no wicked pirate!"

"Oh you think so?" the man laughed, before growing serious, "Well I've seen your father gun down 1,000 innocent men."

Toby staggered, stunned by the man's words.

Evy glared and stepped up, "And I've killed far worse monsters than you," and she had, both she and the Doctor had. The Daleks during the war were as bad as it got, it was literally kill or be exterminated, "You think I can't take the both of you?"

The men started to laugh right in her face.

Evy's face hardened and suddenly the men were sent flying back into the door, knocking over a few barrels of powder. They quickly sobered up and looked at her in shock and horror as she wiped a drop of blood from below her nose.

"She's a witch!" the second man, the taller of the two, accused.

~8~

' _Are you alright?_ ' the Doctor asked, feeling the power surge within his Link.

' _Fine,_ ' she replied quickly, ' _Let's just say Avery's men, I don't like so much._ '

He nodded and got back to trying to pilot the TARDIS, "This is how the professionals do it," he said to the captain before pulling random levers.

' _And here I thought you were an ancient amateur._ '

The TARDIS made an echoing, groaning, grinding noise, as though it were starting to power down.

The Doctor looked around, startled, "Oh, it's stuck…not responding."

"Becalmed?" Avery asked, mildly amused.

"Year, apparently. That's new…" he glanced up just as Avery nodded and smiled smugly, "You had to gloat, didn't you?" he pointed at the captain.

"I'm not gloating," Avery defended, his hands in the air.

"I saw that look just now. Ha ha, his ship's rubbish."

"True," Avery nodded, smirking.

The Doctor opened his mouth to come up with a retort but just turned and ran around the console, trying to figure out what was wrong. He'd thought of calling out to Evy, but she seemed rather preoccupied at the moment.

~8~

"Get what treasure you can and we leave in the row boat," the first man turned to his partner as they quickly started to move the barrels, trying to get away from the supposed witch as quickly as possible.

"You're going to remain at your posts!" Toby exclaimed, grabbing the cutlass Amy had brought with her and pointing it at the men.

"I am not playing games with you boy, you put that down," the second man said seriously, eyeing the weapon now inches away from him.

"One more step and I'll use this, you blaggard."

"You don't know how to fight with a cutlass boy!"

Toby glanced at the man's hand and back up at him, "Don't need to do I?" he lunged forward and swiped at the man's hand, cutting the side of it, leaving a black spot to form in the palm of his hand.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cuddle me shipmate :) Best line EVER!
> 
> Next chapter...Evy's still waiting on some t-shirts. The Doctor nearly gives himself dual heart attacks. There might be something wrong with the TARDIS.


	5. The Curse of the Black Spot (Part 2)

"…can't get a lock on the plane…" the Doctor mumbled as he rushed around the console to the monitor.

"The what?" Avery frowned, not following.

"Space we travel in," the Doctor said quickly, "The…ocean!" he spun to face Avery, "Sort of ocean, but not water. The TARDIS can't see, it's sulking because it thinks the space doesn't exist. Without a plane to lock on to, we're not going anywhere."

"I'm confused…"

"Yeah, well it's a big club, we should get t-shirts."

' _You and your t-shirts,_ ' Evy commented, back with him and equally as confused as to what was wrong with the TARDIS, ' _I'm still waiting for 'The Angels Have the Phone Box' and the 'Hermits United' ones to come in._ '

The TARDIS jolted, hard, the groaning noise echoing again.

The Doctor looked around and up, confused, "What's happening?"

' _Doctor,_ ' Evy said, all joking aside, ' _Get out of there._ '

~8~

The pirate looked down at his hand, seeing the black spot appear on it, "You little swabber!"

"Congratulations, made it to the menu," Amy remarked, "Probably shouldn't go out there now."

He just grabbed his gun, "You scurvy ape!"

"Don't shoot," Rory told the man as Toby lifted the sword again, "The powder will blow and kill us all."

The taller man leaned forward and snatched the keys off of his mate.

"Mulligan," he looked up at the taller man, startled, "What are you doing?"

Mulligan just rushed out the door and shut it behind him.

"No honor among pirates," Amy muttered.

He just nodded, in shock, and lowered his gun, turning to start blocking the door again.

"It's ok now Toby," Evy whispered, placing a hand on the boy's arm, getting him to lower the blade.

~8~

"Well, she's had her little sulk, now she's heading for the full on, screaming, tantrum!" the Doctor shouted over the groaning noise that was growing steadily louder, the TARDIS actually starting to shake as he tried in vain to get it under control.

"Can you fix it?" Avery called.

"Ah…" he moved around the console, shooing Avery away to check the readings, "The parametric engines are jammed. Orthogonal vector's gone. Evy could fix it in a heartbeat but as for me I'm almost out of ideas!" he dropped to his knees, checking under a panel.

"Almost?"

He popped up, "Well, we could try stroking her and singing her a song."

"Would that help?" Avery actually considered it.

"Hard to say," he shrugged, "Never has before," he flinched as the TARDIS jolted suddenly, throwing them back, "I've lost control of her. She's about to dematerialize. We could end up anywhere."

"That sounds bad."

' _Really?_ ' Evy asked sarcastically.

"Yes it is!" the Doctor called to him.

' _Doctor get out!_ '

"Out now!" he agreed, pushing Avery towards the door as the console sparked, "Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"

They ran out, into the lower deck, and turned just in time to see the TARDIS dematerialize in a glow of green light, "Ok, ok, uh, uh, ok," he nodded, trying to make sense of it, "TARDIS runs off on its own…that's a bit of a new one."

' _The siren did it,_ ' Evy breathed, stunned. That was some rather big technology if it could seize a TARDIS, ' _Did you see the light? The same as the siren._ '

The Doctor's eyes widened as he realized that, as well as something else, "Bang goes our only hope of getting them out of here."

"Not much of a captain without a ship are you?" Avery remarked.

' _You've still got a crew,_ ' Evy reminded him, feeling his distress at the loss of the TARDIS.

Avery shook his head and turned to lead the Doctor back towards his quarters, which were closer than the magazine. Suddenly Mulligan popped up before them, blocking their way, treasure in a pack on his back and two guns in his hand, aimed at them.

"Mulligan," Avery gasped, stopping short, before glaring at the man, "What are you _doing_?" Mulligan just inched forward, forcing them to step back, "This is mutiny!"

"She doesn't want _me_ ," Mulligan stated, making his way past them, "She only wants Toby," he stepped back cautiously, now behind them, "And the scrawny looking fella," he turned and took off.

"He's got the last of the supplies," the Doctor remarked, "We should go after him."

"Never mind the damn supplies, what about my treasure?" Avery shouted as he raced off after his crewmember.

They followed after him, turning a corner to another storeroom where Mulligan fired at them, twice, forcing them to duck down behind a few boxes and poles, "Don't get injured," the Doctor warned, "Don't get injured!"

They ran after the man, catching up to him just as he ran into a room and locked the door behind him.

"Come out of there, you mutinous dog!" Avery shouted as the Doctor stepped up and started to sonic the lock. A moment later the singing of the siren echoed through the room. The Doctor quickly stepped back from the door, putting away the sonic to check himself over for injuries, as did Avery. The Doctor stepped towards the captain, about to help, when a glow appeared behind them. They looked over to see the green light under the door.

"She's inside," the Doctor whispered.

"She's come for Mulligan," Avery agreed, a moment before Mulligan screamed.

The Doctor jumped into action, running back to the door and sonicing the lock. They ran inside, the Doctor sonicing around as Avery went straight for the solid gold crown that had fallen to the floor.

"No water in here," Avery remarked, looking around, "How did she take him?" the Doctor looked down and then around, as though just noticing there was no water source as well, "You said she uses water like a door. That's how she enters a room."

' _Maybe it isn't water exactly,_ ' Evy thought to him, ' _What else could she go though then?_ '

The Doctor turned to say something, when he caught sight of the crown in Avery's hand. He stepped forward, looking closely at it, "We were wrong," he whispered, both to Avery and to Evy, before he looked up at the captain, "Please ignore all my theories up to this point."

"What, again?" Avery asked, exasperated.

The Doctor snatched the crown out of the man's hand and looked at it, "We're in danger. The water's not how she's getting in. When we were down in the hull, think what happened. You, me, Evy, Amy, Rory. Leeches."

"She sprang from the water."

"That's only when it grew _still_ ," he corrected, feeling the realization grow in Evy's mind, "Stillwater. Nature's mirror."

"So…you mean…" Avery looked down at the crown.

"It's not water…" he pointed at the crown and looked at the reflection in it, "Reflection…the siren legend, the curse!"

"You said curses weren't real!"

"Folklore springs from truth. She attacks ships filled with _treasure_. Where else would she get a perfect reflection?"

"Polished metal!" Avery's eyes widened. The Doctor looked up and realization hit him as he saw Avery checking his chest where his medallion usually fell.

And it hit him. His Link was trapped in a room, with two people under the siren's spell and a clear portal into it.

He was off before Avery could even yell, "We must warn them!"

They ran as fast as they could through the ship, not even caring to be careful, they just _had_ to get back to the magazine, "Evy!" he shouted as they reached the end of the corridor where the magazine was, "Open the door!"

"Toby!" Avery called, "Open the…"

The door opened just as they reached it to reveal an amused Evy standing there, holding something circular wrapped in cloth on a string, "Looking for this?" she asked, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

The Doctor glanced at the cloth wrapped object before realizing it was the medallion. He quickly stepped forward and pulled her into a deep kiss, his hearts slowing from their frantic pace as he calmed, the threat of dual heart attacks gone now that he saw her safe.

Evy laughed as she pulled away, "You _do_ remember I can read your mind yeah?" she asked him, smiling as she stroked his cheek, "As soon as you realized it was working through reflection, I wrapped it up."

He just smiled at her, pushing a strand of hair behind her head, "Brilliant."

She smiled and gave him a gentle peck of reassurance before growing serious, "You do know that's not the _only_ reflective surface though. You need to check them all."

His eyes widened as he realized that too and turned to run out of the room as Evy laughed behind him. He ran straight back to the captain's quarters, a slightly confused Avery following him. Avery just grew more confused as the Doctor grabbed a gun and started to smash all the windows with the butt of it.

As though sensing his confusion, the Doctor began to explain, "We've got to destroy every reflection. Gold, silver, glass, she could spring from any of them," he turned around and spotted a mirror behind him, striding over to it and shattering it. He looked behind him to see Avery staring at the broken shards, "Yes, yes, I know, I know, very bad luck to break it…"

' _Which is_ just _what we need,_ ' Evy remarked sarcastically.

"But," the Doctor cut in, rolling his eyes at her, "Look at it this way," he leaned the gun against the wall, "There's a stroppy homicidal mermaid trying to kill all."

' _I suppose you're right._ '

Avery nodded as well, considering his words, "How much worse can things get?"

The Doctor suddenly winced, putting a hand to the side of his head, sighing as Avery gave him a questioning look, "Evy's rather cross right now…she's doing that not breathing thing again…according to her, things never work well once someone's said that," he shook his head and turned, moving towards a table with a box of treasure on it, "Help me lug this lot out."

"Where are we taking it?" Avery asked as he leaned over to help.

"The ocean."

"No! No! This is the treasure of the mogul of India."

"Oh, good, for a moment there I thought it was yours," the Doctor commented, before moving to take it once more.

"Doctor!" Avery stopped him, "Wait. _Must_ we do this?"

The Doctor stood and stared straight at him, serious, "Any reflection, any mirror, and the siren will attack," Avery looked down, "We have to protect Rory and Toby," he frowned, seeing Avery's gaze still on the treasure, "He's your _son_ ," he reminded the pirate, "You are his _father_. It's a father's duty to _protect_ their child. Which treasure would you rather lose? This gold," he nearly spat, glaring at the trinkets, "Or your son?" Avery looked up, startled by that, and slowly nodded his agreement with the Doctor's plan, "Go get the crown from the storeroom," he ordered the man.

Avery nodded and walked out of the room.

' _I love you,_ ' Evy whispered in his mind.

He smiled softly, ' _Not angry anymore then?_ ' her reaction to Avery's words had given him quite a headache.

' _Not really, no,_ ' she answered with a mental shrug.

' _Bloody hormones,_ ' he muttered to her. She just laughed as he moved to the window and began throwing the treasure into the sea.

~8~

"Just wait?" Rory frowned as the Doctor walked away from him and Amy to stand beside the captain.

"Not my most dynamic plan I realize…" he admitted, turning to face them.

"TARDIS," Amy reminded him, wondering why they couldn't use it.

"Siren's got it," Evy sighed from her place, sitting next to Toby, between the two groups.

"What?"

"Sorry, we might be stuck here for a while," the Doctor tried to smile.

"So you're saying we should all just wait here below?" Rory repeated.

"The sea is still calm, like a mirror," Avery replied as the Doctor nodded, "If you go out on deck, she's rise up and attack you."

"It's ok," the Doctor reassured them, "The calm won't last forever."

"Especially not with the Doctor here," Evy joked.

"When the wind picks up, we'll all set sail," the Doctor finished, ignoring Evy's little jibe.

"Until it does, we have to hide down here," Avery agreed.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting on a crate on the deck, staring up at the night's sky. Evy was curled up beside him on a crate, napping, her head on his lap as he stroked her hair absentmindedly. He glanced over at Avery as he joined them, before returning his gaze to the stars, "It's not one star, it's two," he commented as he pointed up, leading Avery's gaze, "The dog star. Sirius. Binary system."

"I use it to navigate the ocean," Avery shrugged.

"I've travelled far like you. Space can be very lonely. The greatest adventure is having someone share it with you," he smiled down at Evy as he gently traced the curve of her cheek.

"If we get out of this, I'll take him back to England. He can't stay with me. I'm not the father he needs."

"Who are you? Henry Avery? Respected naval officer, wife and child at home. How did you end up here? Wandering the oceans with a band of rogues?" he couldn't help but smile at how similar Avery's story was to his own, though he had his wife and child with him.

"I've set my course now," Avery shook his head, resigned, "Nothing I can do to alter it."

The Doctor glanced up, once more, at the sky, "People stared at it for centuries and never knew," he shifted, getting off of the crate, "Things can suddenly change," he picked Evy up in his arms, turning to Avery, "When you're least expecting," he gave the man one more smile before heading below deck with Evy.

~8~

He'd just set Evy down in a chair in the captain's quarters and moved to take her hat off her, when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck start to rise. He turned and stared out the windows, slowly placing the hat on the table, not even noticing that Amy had crept up behind him till she spoke.

"Doctor…"

"Shh…" he whispered, frowning, as he looked outside.

"What can you see?" she asked quietly after a moment.

"Feels like something's out there. Staring straight at me…" moments later thunder echoed through the sky, "Man the sails!" he shouted, completely forgetting Evy was sleeping behind him.

Evy jumped to her feet at the sound of his shout, only to see him running out of the room. She gave a frustrated grunt before running after him.

She was going to kill him for that when this was over.

~8~

It was raining quite heavily within a very short time. Avery was hanging from a rope while Amy and Rory ran over to a crate in the middle of the ship, "To the rigging, you dogs!" he barked at Amy and Rory, "Let go the sails!" he jumped onto the deck to see them still standing there, "Avanti!" they ran off over to the sails, "Put the bunt into the slack of the clews!"

"I swear, he's making half this stuff up!" Amy shouted to her husband as she pulled a pulley to lift the sail.

"Well we're gonna need some kind of phrase book!" Rory called to Avery, nearly falling backwards from the wind.

Evy ran to Avery's side, helping him raise those sails, while the Doctor _attempted_ steering the ship.

"Toby!" Avery yelled, seeing his son making his way towards him on deck, "Find my coat! My compass is inside it boy!" Toby nodded and made his way to the crate Amy and Rory had been behind as Avery looked over to the couple again, "Heave ho, you bilge rats!"

"'Rats' was all I could hear!" Rory shouted back.

"Just get the sails up!" Evy called. The couple nodded and got to work.

Suddenly there was a clanging noise of metal hitting wood, echoing to them above the din of the storm. They all looked over to see a crown rolling away from Toby, having fallen from the coat in the boy's hands. They watched in horror as it came to a stop only a few feet away from the boy. A green hand shot out of the circle, the siren flying out of it and up into the air, singing. She drifted to the ground, landing before Toby, her hand held out to him.

"No!" Evy yelled.

"Don't let her take you!" Avery struggled to make his way over as Toby walked towards the siren, "No!"

He was too late.

Toby reached out a hand, touching the siren, and disintegrated.

"No!" Avery fell to the floor in horror.

Amy pulled Rory back as the Doctor leapt forward and tossed the crown into the ocean, the siren fading away as soon as it hit the water.

"Let go!" Rory shouted, struggling in Amy's hold.

"I'm sorry," Avery wept, looking at the place his son had last stood, "I'm sorry…"

"You couldn't give up the gold, could you?" the Doctor snapped at the man as Evy held onto the rope behind her, trying to keep her balance, the ship in the storm was _almost_ worse than the Doctor piloting the TARDIS, "That's why you turned pirate! Your commission, your wife, your son!" Avery looked down, "Just how much is that treasure worth to you man?"

There was a scream from Amy as a sail hold broke free and swung past her as she ducked. Unfortunately it struck Rory, knocking him overboard.

"Rory!" Amy gasped, running to the side of the boat, "Rory! I can't see him!" the Doctor rushed over as Evy pushed herself away from the sail, only managing to make it a few feet before the swaying of the ship tripped her into a barrel of water a few feet away from Avery, "Doctor! I'm going in!"

"Amy no!" Evy shouted as Amy started pulling off her jacket.

Thankfully the Doctor managed to reach her, pulling it back on, "Drowning!" he told Amy, "He's drowning! You go in after him, you'll drown too. There's only one thing that can save him now."

"What are you talking about?" Amy demanded.

"The siren," Evy called, "The siren wants him. We need to release her," she quickly pulled the lid off the barrel and the siren flew into the air as the Doctor dragged Amy over, "He's drowning!" Evy shouted up at the green woman, "Go get him!"

They watched as the siren dove into the water.

"What did you do?" Amy yelled at her.

"If he stays in there, he'll die!" the Doctor told her.

"She'll _destroy_ him!"

"She's not a monster, or a curse, or a ravenous hunter," Evy explained, "She's intelligent which means we can reason with her."

"And maybe," the Doctor added, "Just maybe, they're still alive somewhere. We have to follow."

"Are you _mad_?" Avery demanded, puling himself to his feet and over to the barrel where the group of three had gathered.

"If we ever want to see them again, we have to let the siren take us," the Doctor stated, pulling out a nail from his jacket, "We'll prick our fingers. All agreed?"

They looked at Avery, who took a moment, before saying, "Aye."

Followed immediately by Amy, "Aye."

The Doctor looked at Evy, "With me?"

"Always," she smiled.

He leaned forward and kissed her quickly before pricking her hand, then Avery's, Amy's, and his own.

The siren appeared almost instantly, holding out her hand to them, singing. They all reached out to her, disappearing in a brilliant light…

~8~

The Doctor came to on the floor of something that didn't feel like wood. He quickly rolled over, looking for Evy. He breathed a sigh of relief, seeing her beside him, slowly rousing as well.

"Where are we?" Amy groaned as she too rolled onto her back.

The Doctor pushed himself up, looking over them all to make sure they were all there and alright, "We haven't moved. We're in exactly the same place as before," he stood up, helping Evy to her feet, as they looked through a window to see the deck of the ship during the storm.

"We're on a ghost ship," Avery breathed.

"No," Evy shook her head, looking around, "This is actually a real. A _spaceship_ , just trapped in a temporal rift."

"How can two ships be in the same place?" Amy asked.

"Not the same," the Doctor answered, "Two planes, two worlds. Two cars parked in the same space. There are lots of different Universes nested inside each other. Now and again they collide and you can step from one to the other."

"Ok…I think I understand…"

"You shouldn't though," Evy smiled, putting an arm around the girl, "Because it's nothing like that."

"But if that helps…" the Doctor shrugged.

"Thanks," Amy rolled her eyes.

"All the reflections on the ship must have converted into gateways here…" Evy mumbled, picking up a piece of metal and tossing it through the window, watching as it appeared on the deck.

"Ever look in a mirror and feel like you're seeing a whole other world?" the Doctor asked, "Well this time, it's not an illusion."

A beeping noise signaled behind them, beeping twice with a small lull between it. They turned around at the sound and started to follow it.

"The signal?" Amy guessed.

"Yes," Evy nodded.

"The distress call."

"Uh huh," the Doctor agreed.

"There was a _second_ ship here, all this time."

"Hear that?" Evy added, listening to a singing echoing from farther in the ship, "The siren's here too," she turned and hit a button on the door before them. It slid open to reveal a dead, decayed body in a spacesuit. They all jumped back, not expecting that. After a moment the captain lowered the gun he had drawn at the shock.

"Dead," the Doctor stated as they stared at the alien. It seemed like it had the head of a mouse or beaver with a fin sticking out of the back of its head.

The Doctor took Evy's hand, squeezing it for comfort, as they slid past the alien and into the main control room. There was another alien in the pilot's seat, looking out into the captain's quarters of Avery's ship. The Doctor stepped forward and looked at the alien, crouching down as he examined it while Evy pulled out her sonic and began to scan it.

Amy and Avery looked through the window, still stunned that there was a second, invisible ship, "You were right," Amy commented, "There was something staring at us the whole time. How long has this ship been marooned here?"

"Long enough for the captain to have run out of grog," Avery reasoned.

"I don't understand. If _this_ is the captain, then what's the siren?"

"Same as us," the Doctor shrugged, straightening, as Evy stepped over to him, scanning more, "A stowaway."

"She killed it."

" _Human_ bacteria," Evy shook her head as she held up the scan results for her and the Doctor to look at.

"What?"

"It was a virus," Evy looked up at her, "From your planet. Earth. It must have become airborne and travelled through the portal," she sighed, putting her sonic back in its holster.

"That's what killed it," the Doctor nodded, "Didn't get it's jobbbssss…" he grimaced. He'd started leaning over and ended up putting his hand on the console for balance…right in a mess of slime that had coated it. He pulled his hand away and looked at it, disgusted, "Look…" he held his hand up at Evy who swatted it away.

"What is it?" Amy frowned.

"Sneeze!" he flicked his hand, trying to get some of the slime off, "Alien boogies!"

Unfortunately, when that method didn't work, he just reached out and wiped it on Amy's pirate jacket as he passed.

Evy just shook her head at him as Amy rolled her eyes. But both girls turned and followed after him a moment later. They walked into another room, the Doctor whipping out his own sonic and scanning the white area as they entered.

All around them were dozens of people, lying on tables hanging from the ceiling, their shirts and shoes off. Tubes were connected to their throats while they had bands around their abdomens and arms, monitoring them.

"Legraw!" Avery rushed forward, pointing at one of the men, "He's one of my men."

"He's still breathing," Amy replied, checking on him with Avery.

"My entire crew is here," he breathed, spinning around.

Evy frowned, walking over to one of the men, and pulling a small rectangular device off a table to look at.

"Toby!" Avery shouted, running over to his son's side.

"Rory!" Amy gasped, seeing him lying there as well.

"The TARDIS!" the Doctor took off running, through a small sheet of plastic draped around the TARDIS like a curtain, kissing its door, so relieved it was ok.

"We have to get him out of here," Avery quickly looked at all the tubes, reaching forward to unstrap his son when the Doctor ran over.

"Wait!" he called, pulling out his sonic and scanning the boy, "His fever's gone," he looked over to see Evy standing by Rory's side with Amy, scanning him as well.

"He looks so well," Amy remarked.

"He's being kept alive," Evy said, reading her scan, "The siren is doing it," she looked up, handing the sonic to the Doctor to see as well.

"His brain is still active but all its cellular activity is suspended," he nodded.

"This spot," she gestured to Rory's hand, "Isn't a curse," she held up the block she had taken next to Rory's hand, it had a yellow round spot on it with some information about Rory, "It's a tissue sample."

The Doctor frowned, "Why get samples of people you're about to kill?"

"Help me get him up?" Amy said quickly, glancing between the two.

They quickly moved to unstrap him when a beeping sounded. They looked up just as the siren's song started to echo through the room

"She's coming," the Doctor breathed before they all ran to hide behind a panel station, through some of the plastic curtains. They all peered through it, watching as the siren entered the room and walked over to the now awake Rory who was struggling the closer she came. The siren merely held a hand above him and sang, quieting him as he fell back asleep.

"Anesthetic," Evy whispered.

"What?" Avery shot her a look.

"The music," the Doctor blinked, seeing her train of thought, "The song. So she anesthetizes people and puts their bodies in stasis," the siren moved over to Toby, putting a hand above him as well.

Seeing the move, Avery leapt out from behind the panel and aimed his gun.

"Avery…" the Doctor's eyes widened, "No!"

Avery fired at the siren, who could only turn red. She spun towards him, hissing and screeching angrily as she stormed towards him. The Doctor ran around Amy, behind the curtain, to another side of a man on a table. Evy tried to follow him, but Amy grabbed her arm holding her back. Both of them looked back and forth, trying to figure out some way to help the man when the Doctor sneezed.

The siren stopped only a few feet away from the captain and turned on the Doctor. She held up her hands, creating a stream of fire between them as she stalked after him instead.

"Fire…that's new," the Doctor commented, running a hand through his hair, "Uh…what does fire do? Burn?" he asked himself, backing away, "Yes. Destroy. What else? Uh…"

Evy's eyes widened, making a connection between the tissue sample, the anesthetic, and the fire, "Sterilize!"

The Doctor quickly grabbed a hanky from his pocket as the siren continued to advance on him, "I sneezed! I'm all germy!" he blew his nose into the hanky and threw it on the floor a few feet away. The siren automatically turned and sent the fire at _it_ instead of _him_ , burning it to ashes.

"Amy no!" Evy shouted as Amy ran past her, towards Rory, "Stop!"

"Don't interfere!" the Doctor yelled as the siren turned and began to head for Amy, "Don't touch him!" he shook his head, quickly trying to figure it all out, "Anesthetic…"

"Tissue sample," Evy called, helping him think.

"Screens."

"Sterile working conditions."

"Uh, ignore all my previous theories!" the Doctor shouted to Amy.

"Yeah, well, we stopped paying attention a while back," Amy commented as the siren reached her.

"She's not a killer at all, she's a doctor!"

Amy quickly stepped back at the news, watching in awe as the siren transformed from red to green again.

"Now it makes sense," Evy looked around, "This is an automated sick-bay. It wasn't killing your crew Avery, it was teleporting them onboard."

"Her crew is dead and so the sick-bay's had nothing to do," the Doctor stepped forward, walking over to Amy as did Evy, "It's been looking after humanity whilst it's been idle. Look at her," the Doctor grinned, shaking his head at the siren, "A virtual doctor, able to sterilize a whole room."

"Able to burn your face off," Amy reminded them.

"She's just an interface seeped through the join between the planes," the Doctor waved off Amy's concern, "Broadcast in our world."

"Protein circuitry, that's the black spot, taking a sample means she can change her form," Evy explained, "Be a human doctor for humans."

"Oh, sister, you are good!" the Doctor pointed at the siren, _very_ impressed.

Amy moved to take off Rory's breathing collar when the siren turned red and screeched, forcing Amy to step back, to which the siren turned calm green once more.

"She won't let us take them," Avery remarked, having made his way to stand by Toby.

"She's keeping them alive, but she doesn't know how to _heal_ them," the Doctor concluded.

"I'm his wife for God's sake," Amy looked at them, startled, "Why can't I touch him?"

"So tell her that Amy," Evy said suddenly as Amy looked at her, confused, "Show her your ring," she reached forward and took Amy's hand, twisting it to reveal the ring on her finger, "She's virtual yes, but like I said, she's intelligent. You won't be able to do anything without her consent," she turned and showed the siren Rory's hand beside Amy's.

"Come on," the Doctor added after a moment of nothing from the siren, "Sophisticated girl like you, that must be somewhere in your core program."

The siren looked down at the rings.

"Look, he's very ill, ok?" Amy tried, nearly glaring at the siren, "I just want to look after him," the program looked at her blankly, "Why won't you let me near my husband?" the program tilted her head, seeming to realize something, and held out her hand to Amy, a golden ring appearing around it.

"Consent form," the Doctor whispered to Amy when she looked at him for an explanation.

"You sign it by putting your hand in the light," Evy added.

Amy hesitated a moment, so the Doctor spoke up once more, "Rory's sick. _You_ have to take full responsibility."

Amy turned back to the siren, putting her hand in the light. A moment later the siren disappeared. Amy quickly looked back at the Doctor before rushing around the table to their side, helping them start to get Rory out. She hit a button on the side of the table and Rory jerked up, gasping for air.

"He can't breathe!" the Doctor shouted, "Turn it back on!"

Amy hit the button again and Rory fell back asleep, "What do we do?" she asked them, "I can't just leave him here."

"He'll die if you take him out," Avery sighed, looking at his own son.

Amy ran a hand through Rory's hair, whispering to him gently, "Rory...Rory wake up."

Rory blinked, waking up slowly as he looked around, "Where am I?"

"In a hospital," Evy said quietly, "Or sorts."

"If you leave, you might die," the Doctor told him.

Amy glanced at them a moment before looking back down at Rory, "But if you don't, you'll have to stay forever."

"You're saying that if I don't get up now…" Rory trailed.

"You can never leave."

"The siren will keep you safe," Evy added.

Rory nodded, "And if I come with you…"

The Doctor winced, "Drowning, on the point of death."

Rory blinked, thinking a moment, before turning to Amy, "I'm a nurse."

"What?" she frowned, not sure what that had to do with anything.

"I can teach you how to save me."

"Wait," Amy shook her head, "Hold on…"

"I was drowning. You just have to resuscitate me."

"Just…"

"You've seen them do it loads of times in films. CPR, the kiss of life."

"Rory this isn't a film, ok," she said, tears choking her voice, "What if I do it wrong?"

"You won't."

"Ok, what if you don't come back to life? What if…"

"I trust you," Rory said softly.

Amy blinked back a few tears, "What about them?" she nodded at the Doctor and Evy, "Hmm? I mean…why do _I_ have to be the one? Why do I have to save you?"

The Doctor and Evy frowned at that and walked off a bit, they wouldn't be _allowed_ to help regardless. Amy had taken full responsibility for Rory. If they stepped in, for even a moment, the siren would pull Rory back and refuse to let Amy take him again.

"'Cos I know you'll never give up," Rory reasoned as Amy nodded. He took a breath and began to describe what she would need to do as the Doctor and Evy walked over to Avery.

"We're going to send the ship back into space," Evy said to the captain, "We can't have the siren make it to shore and start trying to process every injured human she finds."

"What about Toby?" Avery looked at them.

The Doctor shook his head sadly, "I'm sorry. Typhoid Fever, once he returns, it's only a matter of time…"

"What if I stay with him?" he asked instead, "Here? The siren will look after him," the Doctor looked at Evy, both of them considering his words, it _could_ work, "I can't go back to England. What home does he have now if not with me?"

The Doctor turned to Avery, nodding, more than a bit proud that the man had _finally_ stepped up to the plate, "You think you can sail this thing?"

"Just point me to the atom accelerator," Avery smiled.

The Doctor laughed and patted the man on the shoulder before they turned and walked back over to Amy and Rory, "I know you can do this," Rory was telling her, "Of course, if you muck it up, I'm going to be very cross…and dead."

Amy laughed a little at his attempt to lighten the moment, "I'll see you in a minute," she whispered to him.

Rory nodded, preparing himself for what was to come.

Amy looked at the Doctor and Evy, all of them nodding to each other before the Doctor and Evy began ripping the straps off him, Amy pulling the collar off as Rory gasped, unable to breathe. They hefted him off the table and helped him to the TARIDS, placing him on the floor.

Amy quickly took her spot beside him, giving him five chest compressions and then a breath as the Doctor an Evy perched on his other side, watching.

She pulled back to check Rory, but there was no change.

They nodded encouragingly as she did five more compressions and a breath. The Doctor started to chew on his thumbnail as there was no change.

"Come on," Evy breathed as Amy pulled back, "Come on Rory!"

"Not here," the Doctor added, "Not this way, not today!"

Amy did five more compressions, another breath, but there was still no change.

"He trusted me," she gasped, pulling back, tears in her eyes and her voice, "He trusted me to save him!"

The Doctor reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder as Evy spoke, "You still can. You can do this Amy."

"He believes in you," the Doctor encouraged, "Come on Amy!" she nodded and started compressions again, "Come on!"

She gave Rory a breath but there was still nothing.

"No," she breathed, giving him five compressions and another breath.

The Doctor and Evy exchanged fearful glances as they realized it might very well be over…if Rory didn't pull out soon…

"Please, please, please, please, please," Amy whispered, over and over, before starting the compressions, "Wake up!" she cried, before begging him, "Please, please, please!"

The Doctor looked away as Evy buried her face in his shoulder, when Amy gave another breath, starting to sob against Rory's mouth as it didn't work. The Doctor fell back on his heels as Amy pushed herself up to look on Rory…who wasn't moving.

She hunched over, crying, as Evy quickly scrambled around to the woman and hugged her to the side when…

Rory started choking, coughing, and gasping. He rolled on his side as Amy, Evy, and the Doctor looked on, stunned and relieved. He gasped for air as the Doctor pushed himself to his feet and walked off, running his hand through his hair in relief. Evy moved back as Amy leaned over Rory, checking on him.

"Amy…" Rory breathed, looking up at her as she smiled, "Amy you did it! You did it!" he pulled her to him in a tight hug, squeezing her as she hugged him back, crying into his shoulder.

The Doctor looked over at them with a smile. He nodded towards the console as Evy pushed herself up and went to join him, both of them standing off to the side, giving the couple a moment to themselves.

~8~

"I thought I was an excellent pirate," Amy commented as she and Rory walked up the stairs, Rory now decked out in a TARDIS blue bathrobe.

" _I_ thought you were an excellent _nurse_ ," he smiled.

"Easy tiger," she grinned at him before spinning around, "Good night Doctor! Evy!"

"Night!" Evy called.

"Good night Amelia," the Doctor added as he and Evy stood by the console, Evy checking something on the monitor.

Amy eyed him suspiciously, "You only call me Amelia when you're worrying about me."

"We _always_ worry about you," Evy smiled at her lightly, hiding the frown she wanted to give at Amy's expression completely falling.

"Mutual," Amy swallowed hard, thinking of the Doctor's, and possibly Evy's, impending death.

"Go to bed Pond!" the Doctor ordered, looking at them standing there.

Evy watched as Rory said something to Amy who nodded before they headed up the stairs and out of the room.

The Doctor pulled the monitor over to him, looking at the full body scan of Amy Evy had just run. The pregnancy was still coming up positive/negative.

"Oh Amelia…" he sighed, frowning at the results.

"We may have something else to worry about," Evy added.

He looked at her sharply, "Are you alright?"

He stepped forward, placing a hand on her stomach as she reassured him, "I'm fine. It wasn't what I was talking about."

He frowned, "What is it?"

She bit her lip a moment before looking up at him, "The siren only took what was injured or ill…"

"Yeah," he nodded slowly, not sure what she was getting at.

She sighed, "Theta…" he blinked at her use of his name, knowing it was serious, "She took the _TARDIS_."

The Doctor's eyes widened as they both turned to look at the rotor in concern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I love how that one pirate who Toby cut just disappears. We know what happens to Mulligan, but where did the other pirate go? He was on the spaceship with the crew in the end, but he's not in the magazine when the Doctor and Avery race back after Mulligan's taken. Hmm...curious.
> 
> I don't know if there's something wrong with the TARDIS, or if it was just the siren's response to another alien ship being activated, but I thought I'd throw out that possibility :)
> 
> Next chapter (Good Night)...the Doctor's hair is doing fab. Amy and Evy bond.


	6. Good Night

The Doctor walked down the stairs of the TARDIS, his arm locked around Evy's waist as she carried a small harp in her arms, a euphonium swinging in his other hand. He kept shooting little glances at Evy as they walked, the dress, a sort of pale yellow, long-sleeved dress that went to her knees and showed off her bump magnificently was more than enough to draw his attention all night, his performance on the euphonium had undoubtedly suffered because of it.

Evy just nudged him in the side, he'd looked quite dashing in his suit and white jacket as well. He grinned widely at that and pulled her to the doors, "River!" he called out, "We'll see you later!"

"Tell Marilyn she's just too late, she'll have to take the biplane," Evy smirked at that. Take _that_ Marilyn!

"Take care," the Doctor added, shutting the doors and taking the harp from Evy as they walked to the console. Evy smirked, spotting a flash of red on the stairs and pulled a lever, sending them off while the Doctor put the instruments down.

"Do you do this every night?" Amy asked, startling the Doctor whose back was to her.

"Oh!" he spun around, "Hello."

"You're trying to conceal euphonium guiltily. Has that ever been attempted before?"

"Leave it to him to be the first," Evy walked around to stand beside the Doctor, leaning on the console.

"What?" he looked down at the instrument, "Oh this, oh yeah, it's just one of those um…euphoniums."

"Ok…so is THIS what you do at night when we're sleeping?" Amy asked, eyeing them, "Have extra adventures?"

"We don't sleep as much as you," he shrugged.

"And the Doctor loves keeping busy," Evy added.

"Doing what?" Amy shook her head, "Actually _tell_ me for once. You're my friends, my best friends, so tell me what it is you do."

The Doctor sighed, "…ok. We just helped out a possessed orchestra at a moon base before that we prevented two supernovas, wrote a history of the Universe all in jokes, and did a bit of local work in Brixton. Lovely practice, very short staffed. Now," he clapped with a smile, "If you'll excuse me," he picked up the instruments, "Best if I put these away, my hair is doing spectacularly tonight, wouldn't want to muss it up," he gave Evy a meaningful look to which she rolled her eyes at his allusion to the fact she hadn't smacked him all night. He grinned, giving her a peck before walking off, down the stairs.

Evy shook her head fondly at him before turning to Amy, who was looking down sadly, "Amy," she called, "What's wrong?"

She looked at Evy a moment before getting up, "We're such tiny parts of your lives, aren't we?" and walked down the steps towards her, "All the friends you two make just...flicker in and out. You must hardly notice us."

"Amy, you and Rory are _incredible_ parts of our lives," she told her, taking the girl's hand and holding it tightly, "In the end, you'll be the only things we remember."

"Speaking of which…" she paused a moment, before speaking quietly, "My life doesn't make any sense."

Evy sighed and nodded, "I know."

"That's what I've been trying to talk to the Doctor about."

"I know," she agreed. The Doctor had been avoiding Amy a bit, he was never one for big philosophical or deep conversations, at least with anyone else but her. He really was rubbish at dealing with every other girl, but, according to him, it just came natural for her, "You can talk to me though," she gave Amy a gentle nudge.

Amy nodded, taking a breath, "It's like…when I first met you two, I didn't have parents. I _never_ had parents. And then you did, whatever it was you did, and rebooted the Universe and, suddenly, I have parents. And I've _always_ had parents. And I remember both lives, in my head, both of them, in my head, and at the same time."

"And you're just fine though. You're special..."

"But it shouldn't be fine. _Why_ is it fine?"

"Rory lived for 2,000 years as a Roman," she reminded her gently.

"He says he hardly remembers it."

"But sometimes you can see it in his eyes, when he just...stares..." she explained. She looked at Amy closely and moved to put her arm around the girl's shoulders, "The thing is that _everyone's_ memory is a right old mess. Life, in itself, _is_ a mess of experiences, of emotion, of memories and everyone has memories of…" she trailed off, trying to think of examples, "A holiday that they _couldn't_ have taken, or...a party they _never_ attended…" she started to smile, "Or met someone for the first time ever and just felt like they knew that person their entire life," her mind drifted, for just a moment, to the Doctor. That was the Link in a nutshell basically, she shook her head, this was about Amy, "Time is always being rewritten, all around us, _every_ day. People tend to think that their _memories_ are bad, but, really, their memories are just _fine_. The past is _really_ like that."

Amy gave her a look, "…that's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Evy asked with a knowing smile, before she stepped back, taking Amy's hand and pulling her around the console, "Hold this…" she placed it on a small joystick-like object.

"What is it?" Amy asked, eyeing the stick as Evy moved to type something in.

"A connection to the TARDIS's telepathic circuits."

"And what do I do?"

"Nothing at all," she pulled a few levers and knobs, "There we are," she smiled at the monitor, "According to this, your saddest memory was…at a fairground, in 1994," she glanced at Amy, "Do you remember why that was?"

"No," she answered, before blinking, "Hang on, did I…did I drop an ice cream? That _can't_ be my saddest memory."

"To a five year old, it's very sad."

There was a soft thump and Amy looked up, shocked, "Did we just _land_?"

Evy smirked, "Shocking, isn't it?"

Amy smiled, recalling how Evy always said that the Doctor was rubbish at flying and/or landing the TARDIS, "Where are we?"

"Tell me what happened after you dropped the ice cream," she countered.

"Nothing, I cried," she looked at Evy, who gave her a pointed look, and frowned, "No, no…" she looked down in thought, "Hang on, there was a lady...and she bought me another one."

"And what did she look like?"

"She looked like she…" she smiled, "She had a funny dress, a night dress, she had red hair," she laughed, "Evy…" she looked over to see the woman standing by the doors, "I don't understand. Why are you doing this?" she stepped away from the console, "What is the point?"

"That lady...did she say anything to you?"

"Cheer up, have an ice cream."

Evy shook her head, "Amy, time and space will _never_ make any sort of sense. The Time Lords...our people were only able to do it after _billions_ of years. A long time ago you got what was probably the best advice you could get on how to deal with just that," she grinned, "So now, the only thing left to do is for you to go and give it," she opened the doors to reveal the fairground, at night, 1994.

"Wait…" Amy started walking down the steps towards her, "I ask _you_ a big important question about life and you're basically telling me to go and buy myself an ice cream?" she eyed the woman curiously, "Have you and the Doctor swapped brains or something?"

"No, we haven't," she answered with a laugh, "And no, I'm not telling you to 'go and buy yourself an ice cream.' I'm telling you go and buy _the four_ of usice _creams_ , what do you think about that Doctor?"

Amy looked over her shoulder to see the Doctor peek from where he'd been hiding down the stairs. He grinned widely and walked out, as though he hadn't been snooping at all, "I love fairgrounds."

Amy looked at Evy, "I hate you."

"No you don't," the Doctor called, wrapping an arm around Evy's waist as they walked out, "Do you get scared on ghost trains?" he asked them, "I get a bit scared," before turning to Evy, "So is it ok if I hold your hand?"

"Doctor…" she began.

"Yes?"

"Don't make me smack you."

"Right."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter...who will Evy be to Idris? Did the TARDIS know of Evy before Jack found her? How will the Doctor react to having his Link and child on a planet that has no qualms with killing Time Lords?


	7. The Doctor's Wife (Part 1)

The Doctor walked around the console while Rory sat on the jump sea,t listening to the man gob on and on, "And then we discovered it wasn't the robot king at all, it was the real one. Fortunately I was able to reattach the head," he laughed.

"Yes," Evy remarked dryly as she and Amy walked in, "And then he realized he'd put it on backwards and _I_ had to fix it."

Rory shook his head and looked at Amy, "Do you believe any of this stuff?"

"I was there," she sighed.

"Oh!" the Doctor jumped up as a small, beeping alarm went off, "It's the warning lights!" Evy frowned and moved to look at the lights with him, "I'm getting rid of those," he tapped the console, "They never stop!" and then he kicked it.

"Doctor," Evy called. He looked up as he held his foot. She simply flicked a toggle and the lights went off.

"Oh…" he grinned bashfully at her and they both moved around the console to see what had set them off in the first place.

"Hey!" Rory whispered, walking over to Amy as she started to head down the stairs, "You're still thinking about it, aren't you?"

"Oh shh!" she hissed, glancing at the Doctor and Evy who were busy at the controls, "We saw him die."

"Yeah, _200 years_ in the future."

"Yeah, but it's still gonna happen..."

Suddenly there was a knock at the doors and they all looked over, shocked.

"What was that?" Amy asked as they headed back up the stairs.

"The door," the Doctor replied as he walked towards it slowly, "It knocked."

"Right…" Rory frowned, "We are in deep space…"

" _Very_ deep space," Evy agreed.

The Doctor made a rhythmic knock and whatever was outside knocked twice more, "And somebody's knocking…" he reached out and threw open the doors, only to see a cube of light floating there, "Oh come here. Come here, you scrumptious little beauty!" he held out his hand but the box flew past him, into the TARDIS, twirled around Amy and Rory by the top of the stairs, past Evy as she stood at the bottom, and straight into his chest, knocking him to the ground. Evy reached out and caught the box as it fell in one hand.

"A box?" Rory asked.

"What is it?" Amy called.

The Doctor popped up and looked at the box in Evy's hand, breathless, "We've got mail!"

~8~

The Doctor and Evy were setting the controls as the Doctor held the box tightly in one hand, "Time Lord Emergency Messaging System," he explained to Amy and Rory, "In an emergency we wrap up our thoughts in psychic containers," he held up the box, "And send them through time and space. Anyway! There's a _living_ Time Lord still out there," he beamed, turning to Evy and kissing her quickly, "And it's one of the good ones!"

She laughed and bent down to type something into the keypad.

"You said there weren't any other Time Lords left," Rory reminded him.

Evy nodded, "There aren't any. Not in the whole Universe. But...the Universe _isn't_ where we're going."

"See that snake," the Doctor held up the box, showing a snake eating its tail, "The mark of the Corsair, fantastic bloke. He had that snake as a tattoo in _every_ regeneration, didn't feel like himself unless he had the tattoo...or herself a couple of times," he spun around to the other side of the console where Evy was, "Oh ho! She was a BAD girl."

Evy looked up and the 'eyebrow of doom' lifted, "And _how_ do you know _that_?"

He looked at her, stunned, a moment before speaking, "I love you?"

She laughed and shook her head at him, hitting a lever that made the console spark and the TARDIS jolt.

"Whoa!" Rory grabbed on, "What is happening?"

"We are now leaving the Universe!" Evy called.

"How can you _leave_ the Universe?" Amy asked.

"With enormous difficulty!"

"Right now we're burning up TARDIS rooms to give us some wally!" the Doctor hit a few buttons and knobs, "Goodbye swimming pool. Goodbye scullery! Sayonara, squash court seven," he hit another lever and the console sparked again.

Amy and Rory gave a shout as Evy watched them fly out of the Universe on the monitor and towards a glowing planet giving off a faint green light. They landed with a jolt, nearly falling to the floor, before the TARDIS settled once more.

"Ok," Amy breathed, pushing some hair from her face, "Ok, where are we?"

"Outside the Universe," the Doctor grinned, getting a bit excited, squeezing Evy's hand, "Where we've never, ever been."

Rory frowned, looking up, as the lights started to fade, "Is that meant to be happening?"

The Doctor looked at the monitor and pushed a button, trying to get the lights back but frowned, "Well, the power...it's draining...everything's draining. But it can't! That's…that's impossible…" and then it went completely dark.

"What is that?"

"It's as if the matrix, the soul of the TARDIS, has just vanished," he looked around slowly, "Where would it go?"

"Well, let's go find out then!" Amy cheered, taking Rory's hand and pulling him towards the door.

The Doctor moved to follow but Evy pulled him back. He frowned, seeing concern etched on her face, "What is it?" he asked, cupping her cheek, stroking it with his thumb.

She sighed, "I just…" she paused, "I don't want to meet another Time Lord only to lose them again."

He nodded slowly, seeing her memories of her brother in his mind, finding him _twice_ only to lose him each time, "Neither do I," he whispered, kissing her forehead before taking her hand and leading her to the door. They stepped out to see they'd landed in the middle of a fairly remarkable junkyard.

"So what kind of trouble's your friend in?" Amy asked, seeing them step out.

"He was in a bind, a bit of a pickle, sort of distressed," the Doctor murmured.

"Aw, you can just say you don't know."

"Oh Amy," Evy sighed with a smile, "You should know by now, the Doctor never admits that."

"What is this place?" Rory looked around, "The scrap yard at the end of the Universe?"

"Not _end_ of, _outside_ of," the Doctor corrected, spinning around.

"How can we be _outside_ the Universe? The Universe is...everything."

"Imagine a great big soap bubble, with one of those tiny, little bubbles on the outside."

"Ok…"

"It's _nothing_ like that," Evy told them as she looked back at the TARDIS, frowning, "Just look at her...something here has drained her completely..."

"Wait so, we're in a tiny bubble Universe sticking to the side of the bigger bubble Universe?" Amy frowned, trying to follow along.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded.

"No," Evy turned around.

"But if it helps, yes," he glanced at the TARDIS as well, "This place is full of rift energy, she'll probably refuel just by being here," Evy knelt down and scooped up a small pebble, "Now this place, what do we think eh?"

She tossed the pebble away, watching it fall, "Well, the gravity is almost the same as Earth and the air's breathable…"

The Doctor hopped into a tub and inhaled deeply, "But it smells like…"

"Armpits," Amy offered.

"Armpits!"

"What about all this stuff?" Rory poked a dangling, lantern-like light, "Where did this come from?"

"It happens with rifts," Evy sighed, "All sorts of things can get sucked through it."

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at her, "Not a bubble! A plug hole. The Universe has a plug hole and we've just fallen down it."

"Moony!" someone shouted in the distance, "It's the moon!" they looked over to see a woman with large hair and a light blue Victorian style dress running towards them, pointing at Evy. She nearly plowed the woman over as she glomped her. Before pulling away and leaning over to look at the slight bump of Evy's stomach, "It's a _full_ moon!"

"What?" Evy shook her head, completely lost.

The woman just turned and gasped, seeing the Doctor, "Thief!" she pointed at him, "Thief! You're my thief!"

"She's dangerous!" someone else shouted, an older woman, running towards them with an older man, both in patchwork clothes, "Guard yourself!"

The woman just launched herself at the Doctor, "Look at you! Goodbye! No, not goodbye, what's the other one?" and then she kissed him suddenly, holding tight despite his struggles.

Evy's mouth dropped open in shock at what was happening.

"Watch out, careful, keep back from her!" the man warned, pulling the woman away. The Doctor wiped his mouth and backed up to Evy, putting his arm around her and tugging her back as though to protect her from the madwoman before them, "Welcome strangers, lovely, sorry about the mad person."

"Why am I a thief?" the Doctor asked, watching the madwoman walk past the older man and woman to look around, "What have a I stolen?"

"Me," she answered, "You're going to steal me. You _have_ stolen me. You _are_ stealing me. Oh! Tenses are difficult aren't they?"

"Oh, we are sorry my doves," the older woman breathed as the madwoman examined Amy, "She's off her head…" she walked over to the Doctor and shook his hand, "They call me Auntie."

"And I'm Uncle," the older man stepped up to shake their hands as well, "I'm everybody's uncle…" he patted the Doctor's cheek and then Evy's stomach, glancing at the woman as she seemed to be trying to look at Evy's ear intently, "Keep back from this one, she BITES!"

"Do I?" the woman looked up, "Excellent," and then she grabbed Evy and bit her ear causing her to cry out in shock and pain.

Everyone started shouting, Auntie and Uncle pulling the woman away as the Doctor pulled Evy to his side, looking at her ear closely to make sure she was alright. She rubbed her ear but nodded and he pulled her even more behind him, keeping the woman insight.

"Biting's excellent!" the woman smiled, "It's like kissing, only there's a winner."

"I'm sorry, she's doolally," Uncle told them.

"No, I'm not doolally," the woman remarked, "I'm mmmmm…I'm mmmm…it's on the tip of my tongue," she gasped, "I've just had a new idea about kissing!" and turned to the Doctor, "Come here!" she lunged at him but Evy pulled him back, the two of them running to hide behind Amy and Rory, who held out their arms to keep the woman away, as Auntie and Uncle tried to hold her back.

"No!" Auntie called, "Idris, no!"

"Oh, but now you're angry," Idris looked at them, eyeing the Doctor, "No, you're not. You _will_ be angry," she tilted her head thoughtfully, "The little boxes will make you angry."

"Sorry, the little what?" the Doctor stepped forward, pushing Evy to stay behind Amy and Rory, "Boxes?"

Idris laughed and grabbed his chin, "Your chin is hilarious!" and then turned to Rory, "It means the smell of dust after rain."

"What does?" Rory shook his head, confused.

"Petrichor."

"But I didn't ask."

"Not yet, but you will."

"No, no Idris," Auntie pulled her back, "You should have a rest."

"Rest, yes," she nodded, "Good idea. I'll just see if there's an off switch…" she pitched forward, Rory just managing to catch her in time and lay her down in a nearby wheelbarrow to check her.

"Is that it?" Uncle asked, "She dead now? So sad."

"No, she's still breathing," Rory called back.

"Uh, Nephew…" the man turned to an Ood with green eyes that approached, "Take Idris where she cannot bite people."

The Doctor turned around to see the Ood standing there, "Oh, hello!"

Amy turned as well, nearly jumping at the sight, "Oh, Doctor, what _is_ that?"

"Oh, it's alright Amy," Evy reassured her, walking over to her, "It's just an Ood."

"Ood are good," the Doctor nodded, "Love an Ood," he walked over to it, "Hello! Ood! Can you talk?" he glanced at the dim translator orb in the Ood's hand, "Oh, I see, it's uh, damaged...may I?" the Ood nodded and held it out to the Doctor who pulled off the top, "Might just be on the wrong frequency."

"Nephew was broken when he came here," Auntie remarked, "Why he was half dead! House repaired him. House repaired all of us."

The Doctor put the cap back on and the orb glowed green. Suddenly the air was filled with voices familiar to the Doctor and Evy. Evy gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she heard them speak, "If you are receiving this message," one voice rang out above the others, "Please help me. Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Help! I'm still alive! I don't know where I am. I'm on some rock-like planet…"

The voices started overlapping. The Doctor spun in a circle, listening, before stepping back. Evy stepped forward and he pulled her into his arms, Nephew shutting off the ball.

"What was that?" Rory breathed after a moment of silence, "Was that him?" he pointed at the Ood.

"No," the Doctor swallowed, shaking his head as he pulled away from Evy, still holding her hand tightly, "No, it's uh...picking up something else," he looked around, wary, disturbed, emotional, "But that's not possible. That's…that's…" he turned to Auntie and Uncle, "Who else is here? Tell me. Show me. Show me!" he advanced on them and they backed up.

"Doctor," Evy called, pulling him back. He took a breath and she stepped beside him, putting her arm around his waist and hugging his side. He turned and rested his head on hers, trying to calm down.

"It's just what you see," Auntie gestured at her and Uncle, "Just the four of us. And the House. Nephew, will you take Idris somewhere safe where she can't hurt nobody."

"You said _the_ House?" Evy looked at them, "What's 'the House?'"

Auntie grinned, "House is all around you. My sweets," Uncle hopped in place, "You are standing on him. This is the House. This world," she leaned forward, "Would you like to meet him?"

"Meet him?" Rory shook his head.

The Doctor held up a finger to him, "We'd love to."

Uncle grinned and gestured for them to follow, "This way, come. Please, come."

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, seeing the Time Lords looking a cross between disturbed and hopeful, "What were those voices?"

"Time Lords," Evy swallowed hard, "It wasn't just the Corsair either. That means that, somehow, there are quite a few Time Lords around here."

The Doctor put his arm around her shoulder and they walked off after Uncle and Auntie, Amy and Rory following behind.

~8~

Idris lay in a caged area, Nephew keeping guard, as she struggled to find the words she needed, "I'm…I'm…" she sat up, frustrated, "Big word, sad word…" she put her hands on the bars, "Why is that word so _sad_? No, will be sad," she gasped, " _Will_ be sad."

~8~

Uncle led them into a room with a grate on a small platform, a green glow emanating from it, "Come, come, come, you can see House and he can look at you," he leaned over the grate and gestured for them to come. The Doctor looked at Evy, nodding to her to stay back before he moved to kneel down beside the man.

"I see…this asteroid is sentient," he realized.

Auntie nodded and moved to stand beside Uncle, "We walk on his back, breathe his air, eat his food…"

"Smell its armpits," Amy added quietly, making Evy smile.

"And do my will," Auntie and Uncle stood up stiffly, a vacant look in their eyes, their voices echoing with another presence. The Doctor popped up, concerned, and backed away, "You are most welcome travelers."

"Doctor…" Amy called, "That voice, that's the, um, asteroid talking?"

"Yes, so you're like uh…" he stepped down more, back to Evy's side, taking her hand, but staying just enough before her as to protect her should the asteroid turn out to be hostile, "Sea urchin, hard outer surface, that's the planet we're working on, big squashy oogly thing inside, that's you?"

"That is correct, Time Lord," House replied.

"You've met other Time Lords then?" Evy asked cautiously, squeezing the Doctor's hand, something about this was not sitting well with her.

"Many travelers have come through the rift. Like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew. I repair them when they break."

"So there are Time Lords here?" the Doctor asked hopefully.

"Not any more. But there have been many TARDISes on my back in days gone by."

"Oh, well, there won't be any more after us. Last Time Lords. Last TARDIS."

"A pity. Your people were so kind," Evy frowned, glancing at Nephew as he entered, "Be here in safety Doctor. Rest. Feed if you will."

Auntie and Uncle shook their heads, House releasing them.

"We're not actually gonna stay here are we?" Rory looked at them skeptically.

"Well, it seems like a friendly planet," the Doctor remarked, "Literally…"

Evy turned to Auntie and Uncle, "Would you mind if we took a look around?"

"You can look all you want," Auntie smiled, "Go. Look," she hobbled over to Amy and took her hair in her hands, which the Doctor and Evy noticed were mismatched, one bigger than the other, more masculine, "House loves you."

The Doctor clapped his hands, "Come on then gang, we're just going to…uh…see the sights," he took Evy's hand once more and turned to lead them out.

~8~

Idris stood in her cell, muttering something in some sort of gibberish when she gasped, "What was that?" she looked to her right, "Do fish have fingers?" and then her left, "Like a nine year old trying to rebuild a motorbike…" she blinked, "What am I saying? _Why_ am I saying that?" she looked ahead, scared, "Moony? Thief?" she put her hands on the bars, "Where's my thief? Thief! Moony!"

~8~

Evy paused as they walked down a tunnel-like corridor, hearing a faint voice call out in the distance, ' _Did you hear that?_ ' she turned to the Doctor who nodded, squeezing her hand.

"So as soon as the TARDIS is refueled we can go, yeah?" Rory asked, growing more anxious.

"No!" the Doctor turned to him, "There are _Time Lords_ here. We heard them and they need us."

"You told me about your people and you told me what you both did…" Amy said gently.

"Yes, yes, but if they're like the Corsair, they're good ones and we can save them."

"And tell them you destroyed all the others?"

"We'll explain," Evy squeezed his hand, "Tell them why we had to," she turned and tugged him onwards.

"You want to be forgiven," Amy realized.

The Doctor stopped and slumped, letting go of Evy's hand to put it on her back, before he looked at Amy, "Don't we all?"

Amy nodded, "What do you need from me?"

The Doctor patted his coat, "My screwdriver, I left it in the TARDIS. It's in my jacket."

"You're wearing your jacket," Rory pointed out.

"It's in his _other_ jacket," Evy remarked.

"He has two of those?"

"What about _your_ sonic?" Amy looked at Evy, seeing her sonic in its holster around her waist.

"It's not the same," the Doctor cut in, "I like mine."

Evy shook her head, "Boys and their toys."

Amy sighed, understanding, "Ok, I'll get it, but Doctor, listen to me, don't get emotional because that's when you make mistakes. And you've _got_ to be careful…for Evy's sake," she had realized a while ago that she just had to bring up Evy and their child to get him to be more careful about things.

The Doctor looked down at his Link and wrapped his arm around her, resting his hand on her stomach, before looking at Amy, "Yes boss."

Amy nodded, "Call you from the TARDIS," she tossed him her phone, "Rory look after them," she turned and headed off as Rory looked like he really wanted to follow.

The Doctor grinned, recognizing that look, "Rory, look after her," Rory smiled at them and ran off, the Doctor dropping a kiss to Evy's head before they turned and continued on.

~8~

Amy glanced back to see Rory running up to her in the junkyard, "I told you to look after them."

"They'll be fine. They're Time Lords."

Amy stopped and looked back at him from the doorway of the TARDIS, "It's just what they're called, it doesn't mean they actually know what they're doing," Rory gave her a look and she rolled her eyes, "Fine, it doesn't mean _the Doctor_ knows what he's doing."

Rory laughed, walking over to take her hand, "Evy will look after him. That's her specialty isn't it?"

"And she's pregnant," Amy pulled him into the TARDIS, "You said it yourself, if I were pregnant, you wouldn't be trying to get into situations like that," she walked over to the console phone and called up her own phone, "Hey, uh, we're here, screwdriver's in your jacket yeah?"

~8~

The Doctor grinned, pulling his sonic out from his jacket, "Yeah, it's around somewhere. Have a good look," he glanced over at Evy who pulled out her own, the two of them flicking them on, locking the TARDIS doors, twice.

~8~

The Doctor and Evy ran into a room, before stopping, looking around, "Come on…" the Doctor muttered, "Where are you? Huh? Where are you all? Where are you?" he closed his eyes as did Evy, the two of them just sensing for the other Time Lords. They opened their eyes and walked towards a curtain in the back.

Evy pushed it aside and they stepped past it into the back corner. She frowned, "They can't _all_ be _here_ …"

They exchanged concerned looks before sensing the others once more, behind them. They looked over at a blue cupboard and walked over, a sense of dread filling them. The Doctor opened it, only to find about ten messenger boxes sitting there, all glowing, all calling out for help, the last words and thoughts of their owners.

Evy tensed, looking over her shoulder as Auntie and Uncle appeared behind them. The Doctor cast a glance at them and turned back to the boxes, the horrible realization hitting him. They'd been fooled, there were no Time Lords and whatever horrible that that happened to them had happened _here_. He tensed, gripping Evy's hand as he also realized he'd just brought his Link and child into a potentially deadly situation.

"You have an impressive Time Lord Distress Signal collection," Evy murmured, squeezing his hand.

"Nice job," he added, "Brilliant job. Really thought we had some friends here…but this is what the Ood translator picked up, cries for help from the _lon_ g _dead_ ," he turned to face them, stepping down to put himself between Evy and the duo, "How many Time Lords have you lured here the way you lured me? And what happened to them all?"

"House," Auntie replied, "House is kind. And he is wise…"

"House repairs you when you break!" he advanced angrily at them, "Yes I know!"

Evy dashed to his side, pulling him back. He turned and ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm down as she stepped up and pulled out her sonic, " _How_ does he repair you though?" she asked them, flashing them. She frowned, looking at the results and then at Uncle intently, "Your eyes...they're the eyes of a twenty year old."

"Thank you," Uncle grinned.

"No, I meant literally. Your eyes are thirty years younger than the rest of you," she pulled off his hat, grimacing at the blue alien ear stitched to the side of his head, "And your ears don't match. Your right arm is two inches longer than your left. You have two left feet…"

"Patchwork people," the Doctor nearly sneered, turning around and stepping to Evy's side, "You've been repaired and patched up so often I doubt there's anything left of what used to be you," he reached out and grabbed Auntie's thick arm, "I had an umbrella like you once."

"Oh, now, it's been...it's been a great arm for me this..." Auntie held up the arm herself, revealing a snake tattoo on the skin.

"The Corsair…" Evy frowned.

"He was a strapping big bloke, wasn't he Uncle?"

"Big fellow," Uncle nodded.

"I got the arm. And um, Uncle got the spine and kidneys."

"Kidneys."

"You gave us hope and then you took it away," the Doctor glared at them, "That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it will do to _me_. Basically…RUN!"

They turned and fled, Uncle glancing back at them, "Poor old Time Lords. Too late. House is too clever," before he turned and followed Auntie out of the room.

"We need to go, now," the Doctor turned to Evy, cupping her face in his hands, "I need to get you both out of here. Somewhere safe. Let's go…" he took her hand, about to go, when Amy's phone rang again.

"No sonic screwdriver," Amy said, "Also the doors seem to have locked behind us. Rory thinks there's a perfectly innocent explanation, but I think you lied to us…"

"Time Lord stuff, needed you out of the way."

"What, we're not good enough for your smart, new friends?"

"'Boxes will make you angry,'" he muttered, turning to Evy, "How could she know?"

"Doctor what are you talking about?"

"Stay there Amy," Evy called to her, "Stay in the TARDIS."

"We don't have much…" Amy's words were cut off as the Doctor hung up and tugged Evy out of the room.

~8~

They ran into another room to see Idris sitting inside a large caged area, "How did you know about the boxes?" Evy asked her quickly.

"You said they'd make us angry, how did you know?" the Doctor nodded.

Idris just remained sitting, her eyes closed, "Ah. It's my thief and his moon."

"Who are you?"

"Hmmm?" she opened her eyes and smiled at them, "It's about time."

"I don't understand. Who are you?"

"Do you _really_ not know me? Just because they put me in here?" she glanced at Evy, "Evy? No? You should be able to figure it out ages before him."

"They said you were dangerous," the Doctor continued, stepping before Evy who rolled her eyes and stepped beside him, taking his hand.

"Not the _cage_ , stupid," she knelt by the bars, touching her face, "In here," she put her hands on the bars and looked out at them, "They put ME in here. I'm the…oh what do you call me? We travel. I go…" she breathed out, imitating the wheezing of the TARDIS.

"The TARDIS?" Evy's eyes widened.

"Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. Yes, that's it. Names are funny. It's me," she pulled herself up, " _I'm_ the TARDIS."

"No you're not!" the Doctor glared, "You're a bitey mad lady. The TARDIS is up and downy stuff in a big blue box."

"Yes that's me. A Type 40 TARDIS. I was already a museum piece when you were young. And the first time you touched my console you said…"

The Doctor blinked, stunned, "I said you were the most beautiful thing I had ever known."

She smiled softly, "Though that's not quite true anymore, is it?" she glanced at Evy, "I could see you coming. I knew the Doctor's Link was out there, all I had to do was wait patiently for her to arrive. I must say, you've kept me waiting a fair long time," she sighed, "I wonder what would have happened if he'd waited, if he'd never stolen me…"

"I borrowed you," the Doctor defended, his arm moving around Evy's waist.

"Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back? You or the moon that orbits you?"

" _You're_ the TARDIS?" Evy asked, still a bit startled by that fact.

"Yes."

" _My_ TARDIS?" the Doctor shook his head, and then there was a painful jab in his ribs from Evy, " _Our_ TARDIS?"

"My Doctor," she countered, "His Moon," she grinned, "Oh! We have now reached the point in the conversation where you open the lock," she backed away from the door as the Doctor glanced at Evy, who gave him a little nod. He pulled out his sonic and flashed the door. It swung open easily and Idris stepped out. She walked right up to them and stared at them, examining them intently, "Are all people like this?"

"Like what?"

"So much bigger on the inside."

"Unless you're the Doctor's head," Evy commented, "Then you're never quite big enough," the Doctor smiled at her and dropped a kiss onto her head.

Idris smiled, "I'm…" she stepped past them, frustrated now, that word kept escaping her, "Oh what is that word? It's so BIG, so complicated, and it's so sad…"

"But why?" Evy shook her head, "Why put the TARDIS matrix into a human head? Why does House want you?"

"Oh he doesn't want _me_ ," Idris walked back to them and sniffed them.

"How do you know?" the Doctor asked.

"House eats TARDISes."

"House does _what_?" Evy gaped, alarmed, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, something I heard him say."

"When?" the Doctor shook his head.

"In the future."

"House eats TARDISes?"

"Oh there you go," she put her thumb on his mouth to keep him quiet.

"Hey!" he mumbled through closed lips.

Idris turned to Evy, "How on Earth do you keep him quiet?"

Evy grinned and stepped over to the Doctor, giving him a peck on the lips, "That's usually good for about 15 seconds," she told Idris who nodded.

"What are fish fingers?"

"When does he say that?" Evy asked, amused.

"Any second."

She nodded, trying to work it all out, "Well, if House feeds on rift energy, that explains the need for TARDISes, they're bursting with it and not raw…"

"Lovely and cooked, processed food," the Doctor came out of it, "Mmm, fish fingers."

"Do fish have fingers?" Idris asked him.

"But you can't just _eat_ a TARDIS," Evy continued, getting back to point, "That type of power would destroy you, unless…"

"Unless you deleted the TARDIS matrix first."

The Doctor laughed, "So it deleted you?"

Evy opened her mouth to speak but Idris beat her to it, "But House can't just delete a TARDIS consciousness, that would blow a hole in the Universe, so it pulls out the matrix, sticks it into a living receptacle, and then it feeds off the remaining Artron Energy," she gasped and looked at Evy, "You were about to say all that…I don't suppose you have to now."

Evy almost smiled when she realized something, "Amy and Rory are in the TARDIS!"

The Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room with a shout of, "They'll be eaten!"

~8~

"Amy!" Evy pulled out the phone as she and the Doctor ran across the junkyard towards the TARDIS, "Amy! Rory! You need to get out of there!"

"Evy," Amy gasped, "Something's wrong."

"Yeah," the Doctor shouted, "It's House, he's after the TARDIS. Just get out both of you!"

"We can't you locked the door, remember?"

"They should be unlocked now," Evy shook her head, "We unlocked them!"

"You bloody well haven't! I don't like this!"

The Doctor pulled out his sonic, aiming it at the TARDIS as they ran, but it didn't work. He quickly snapped his fingers, Evy trying to as well, but nothing happened. The doors were locked.

"Open!" the Doctor shouted, "Open!"

"Doctor!" Amy yelled from within, "Evy!"

"OPEN THIS DOOR!" he banged on it.

"Amy!" Evy gasped as the TARDIS started to dematerialize, "Rory!" and then it was gone. She quickly picked up the phone, "Amy? Amy are you there? Can you hear me?" but there was nothing.

"Ok…" the Doctor nodded, stunned, "Right…" he looked at Evy, "I don't…I really don't know what to do…" he smiled with a little laugh, "That's a new feeling…"

Evy just slapped him in the back of the head, "We need to get them back!"

"Right, yes, yes," he took her hand and they ran back across the junkyard.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really know what to call this chapter, as I don't really picture the TARDIS as being a mother to the Time Lords like in the Academic Series where the Professor and the Doctor had spent so much time in the TARDIS before they even traveled in it. So I kept it as the Doctor's Wife, technically Evy isn't his 'wife' she's his Link.
> 
> Next chapter...Evy has a new way to cheer the Doctor up. Something Evy has been saying is confirmed. Evy does the impossible. We get a very sweet scene involving a speech and a lullaby.


	8. The Doctor's Wife (Part 2)

"The TARDIS is gone," Evy shouted as they ran back into the room where Idris was sitting off to the side, Uncle and Auntie milling around in the back.

"Eaten?" she looked up.

"No it left!" the Doctor told her, "Not eaten. Hijacked…" he started pacing, "But why?"

"It's time for us both to go Uncy," Auntie remarked as they wrapped blankets around themselves, "Together."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, go?" the Doctor turned to them, "What do you mean go? Where are you going?"

"Well we're dying my love," they walked towards him, "It's time for Auntie and Uncle to pop off."

"I'm against it," Uncle sighed.

"It's your fault isn't it sweets? 'Cos you told House it was the last TARDIS. House can't feed on 'em if there's no more coming."

Uncle sat down heavily, "So now he's off to your Universe to find more TARDISes."

"It won't find any though," Evy shook her head.

"Oh, it'll think of something," Auntie nodded before falling to the side.

The Doctor ran over to her, scanning her.

"Actually," Uncle stood up, smiling, "I feel fine…" and then he fell as well.

Evy quickly knelt beside him, scanning him too.

"You're not dead!" the Doctor shouted at them, "You can't just die!"

"We need to go to where I landed, quickly," Idris called.

"Why?"

"'Cos we are there in three minutes," she got up, "We need to go…now…" and ran to the door, only making it a few steps before she hunched over, grabbing her side, "Ow!" she turned to them, "Roughly how long do these bodies last?"

The Doctor scanned her quickly and paused at the results, "You're dying…"

"Of course she's dying," Evy walked over to him and gently took his hand, "A TARDIS can't survive long in a flesh body."

"I could blow the casing in no time," Idris nodded, looking at the sonic in her hand which she'd snatched from him. She looked over at him to see him looking at her sadly, "No, stop it, don't get emotional. That's what the orangey girl says…Evy cheer him up!"

Evy looked at her a moment before taking the Doctor's hand and lightly moving it to rest on her stomach where their child kicked gently at the contact, sensing its father. She watched as the Doctor's expression softened to a gentle smile. She _knew_ that would work, she knew it would calm him just as much as it typically soothed their baby when it was active.

"You're the Doctor," Idris nodded, holding out the sonic to him, "Focus."

He sighed and looked at her, "On what? How? I'm a madman with a box without a box!" he snatched the sonic away, "I'm stuck on the plughole at the end of the Universe in a stupid old junkyard!"

"Oh…" Evy grinned.

"Oh what?" Idris looked at her.

"We're not."

"Not what?" now it was the Doctor's turn to look confused.

"It's not a junkyard!" she looked between them, "Don't you see, it's not _just_ a junkyard."

"What is it then?"

"It's a _TARDIS_ junkyard!" she told them.

The Doctor's eyes widened and he grabbed her hand, "Come on!" they turned and ran for the doorway when Evy pulled back.

"Sorry," she smiled at Idris, "But um, what should we call you? What's your name?"

"You know, in 700 years _he's_ NEVER asked me that," Idris mock glared at the Doctor before beaming at Evy, "That's why I like you best."

"I knew it!" the Doctor shouted, pointing accusingly at the two women.

Evy rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Idris, "What should we call you?"

"Don't you both call me…" she smirked, "Sexy?"

The Doctor blinked, "…only when we're alone."

"We are alone."

"Come on then sexy," Evy grinned, taking her hand and pulling her out, "You too handsome!" she called back to the Doctor as he laughed, running after them.

~8~

The Doctor took the lead, scanning the junkyard as they ran into it, up a small hill that overlooked it, "Valley of half-eaten TARDISes," he breathed, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Always," Evy nodded.

"I'm thinking all of my sisters are dead," Idris said softly, "That they were devoured, and that we are looking at their corpses."

"Ah, sorry, no, I wasn't thinking that…" the Doctor winced.

Idris looked at him, "No, you were thinking you could build a working TARDIS console out of broken remnants of a hundred different models. And you don't care that it's impossible."

He grinned widely, "It's not impossible as long as we've got Evy," he put an arm around the woman in question.

Evy nodded, determined, "Rory and Amy are in danger, they need us, so we're gonna build a TARDIS."

The Doctor let his arm drop and slide down her arm, taking her hand as they ran carefully down the hill, Idris following.

~8~

Idris stood by a pile of rubbish, looking at a small circuit, while the Doctor attempted puling a large wall along by some chains, Evy was kneeling beside her, working on piecing together a few controls that would later form a console.

"Bond the tube directly into the tacking diverter…" Idris called over to the Doctor.

"Yes, I have actually rebuilt a TARDIS before you know," he remarked, "I know what I'm doing."

Idris and Evy exchanged an amused glance at that, before they both turned to him, "You're like a nine year old trying to rebuild a motorbike in his bedroom…" Idris remarked.

"And you never read the instructions," Evy added.

"I always read the instructions," he countered.

"There's a sign on my front door," Idris crossed her arms, "You have been walking past it for 700 years, what does it say?"

"That's not instructions."

"There _is_ an instruction at the bottom though," Evy stated, "What does it say?"

"Pull to open."

"Yes…" Idris nodded.

Evy smirked, "And what do you do?"

"I push!" he shouted, growing a bit annoyed with the two women ganging up on him.

"Every single time," Idris sighed, "700 years, police box doors open _out_ the way."

He threw down the chains and stalked over towards them, "You know, I think I have earned the right to open my front doors anyway I want!"

" _Your_ front doors?" Idris eyed him, "Have you any idea how childish that sounds?"

He just turned and walked off, "You are not my mother!"

"And you are not my child."

"You know," he spun around, "Since we're talking, with mouths, not really an opportunity that comes along very often, I just want to say, you know, YOU…" he pointed at her, "Have never been very reliable."

"And you have?"

"You didn't always take me where I wanted to go," he turned and walked back to the wall.

"No, but I always took you where you _needed_ to go!"

Evy blinked, her smile fading just a bit, "Like with Jenny."

The Doctor stopped, hearing her soft words, and paused in thought, "You did…" he smiled a bit, recalling how the incident with Jenny, while painful, had reopened his hearts to the thought of children, to the possibility of having children with Evy, "Look at us, talking!" he whirled around, excited, rushing back to them, "Wouldn't it be amazing if we could always talk, even when you're stuck inside the box?"

"But you know I'm not constructed that way," Idris frowned, "I exist across all space and time and you talk and...run around and...bring home strays. Honestly, I have no idea how Evy manages to put up with…" she cut off suddenly, wincing, as she nearly collapsed. The Doctor quickly reached out and steadied her as Evy stood up with her sonic out and scanning the woman.

"You're ok?" he asked.

"One of her kidneys has already shut down," Evy looked at the results.

"It doesn't matter, we need to finish assembling the console," Idris waved them off.

"Using a console without a proper shell…" he whistled, "It's not going to be safe…" he glanced at Evy, concern bubbling within him for her and their child.

Evy smiled, sensing that, "Nothing ever is with you," she walked over to him and, once again, placed his hand on her stomach where their child was eagerly kicking, "I think it's excited for the prospect."

He smiled gently at her.

"This body has about 18 minutes left to live," Idris added, "The Universe we're in will reach absolute zero in 3 hours. Safe is relative."

The Doctor took a breath and turned back to the wall, "Then we need to get a move on. Eh, old girl?"

Idris placed a hand on her side a moment, Evy putting her own hand on the woman's shoulder, squeezing it. Idris smiled at her and they both turned to resume their tasks.

~8~

A mostly constructed TARDIS stood in the center of the rubble, two walls meeting in a corner, with a makeshift console set up, sans rotor, which the Doctor was lugging over. Evy was making last minute upgrades to the console as Idris stood by another pile, examining the pieces for anything they might need, "You'll need to install the time rotor!" Idris called.

"How is this going to make it through the rift?" the Doctor asked as he headed towards the console.

"Useless…" Idris muttered, tossing a bit of junk behind her.

The Doctor hefted the rotor up and into the slot, "Almost done…Rustif Fuser…" Idris looked back at them as the two Time Lords went about examining the console, "Retroscope…Blue Thingy…"

"Do you ever wonder why I chose you all those years ago?" Idris asked him.

"I chose you. You were unlocked."

"Of course I was," she turned to face him, "I wanted to see the Universe, so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away," he and Evy walked, hand-in-hand, to her side, the Doctor coming to stand between the two women, "And you were the only one mad enough."

"Right," he grinned as they looked at the makeshift TARDIS, "Perfect, look at that, what could possibly go wrong?" Evy and Idris exchanged a look before nodding and whacking him upside the back of the head together, "OW!" he winced. And then a piece of the TARDIS popped off, "That's fine, that always happens."

"That always happens to _you_ ," Evy corrected.

"Nope, hang on, wait!" he turned to a pile of junk and grabbed three red velvet ropes from a movie theater and walked back to the console with the girls. Idris took the left side hanging a hanger on a small hook while Evy took the back, him the right. He handed them the rope to strap themselves in, "Right, ok, let's go. Follow that TARDIS!"

Idris turned to look at him but stopped, catching sight of herself in the mirror. She pulled at her face, scrunching it up as the Doctor and Evy moved to start it up. The TARDIS hummed a moment before powering down and sparking.

"Oh, come on, there's rift energy everywhere!" the Doctor complained.

"You can do it," Evy encouraged, punching in some codes and trying again, but nothing happened.

"Ok…" the Doctor moved to a crank, "Diverting all power to thrust…let's be having ya!" he wound it quickly and it sparked, "Ah! No, no, no, no, no!"

"What's wrong?" Idris looked over.

"It can't hold the charge," Evy told her.

"It can't even _start_ ," he added, "There's no power!" he looked over to see Idris pulling at her lip, "Will you…" and put his hand over the mirror, "We've got nothing…"

"Oh my beautiful idiot. You have what you've always had. You've got me," she kissed her middle finger and her eyes glowed golden with the Vortex before she tapped the rotor, powering it up. The familiar wheezing filled the air and a golden haze appeared around them.

They hung onto the console as they disappeared.

~8~

"Woo!" the Doctor cheered as they flew away from the planet in a golden swirl.

"We've locked on to them!" Idris shouted over the noise, "They'll have to lower the shields when we're close enough to phase inside."

"Try to get a message to Amy!" Evy called, "I've got the telepathic circuits online."

"Which one's Amy? The pretty one?"

~8~

Inside the TARDIS, Rory and Amy were climbing up a ladder, having been chased and tormented by House, when Rory suddenly grabbed his head, getting a sharp pain, "Ah!" he frowned, seeing Idris in his mind.

"Rory!" Amy looked up, concerned, "What's wrong?"

"It's like I'm getting a message."

"Hello pretty!" Idris shouted.

"What the hell is that?"

Evy appeared on the woman's left, "Don't worry, it's a telepathic message…"

And then the Doctor appeared on her right, "No, that's Rory!" before they both disappeared.

"You have to go to the old control room," Idris told him, "I'm putting the route in your head. When you get there, use the purple slider on the nearest panel to lower the shields."

The Doctor appeared again, "The _pretty_ one?"

"You have about twelve seconds before the room goes into phase with the invading matrix. I'll send you the passkey when you get there. Good luck!"

The message ended and Rory opened his eyes.

"What was that?" Amy asked.

"It was that woman," he called down to her, "That madwoman, the Doctor, and Evy."

"The Doctor and Evy?

"We have to keep going!" and they resumed their climb.

~8~

"How's he gonna be able to take down the shields anyway?" the Doctor called to Idris, "The House is in the control room!"

"I directed him to one of the old control rooms," she replied.

"There aren't any old control rooms."

Evy nodded, equally confused, "He's deleted or remodeled them all."

"I archived them," Idris said, "For neatness. I've got about thirty now."

"But I've only changed the desktop what, a dozen times?" the Doctor shook his head.

"So far yes."

"You can't archive something that hasn't happened yet."

" _You_ can't."

~8~

"We're closing in!" Evy cheered.

"You're doing it you sexy thing!" the Doctor grinned.

"See you _do_ call me that!" Idris remarked, "Is it my name?"

"You bet it's your name!"

"Woo!" she laughed, putting her hands on the rotor to send Rory the passwords: crimson, eleven, delight, petrichor. A moment later she opened her eyes, grinning, "They did it! Shields down!"

~8~

"We're coming through!" Idris appeared in Rory's mind as he and Amy cowered away from Nephew, sent to kill them by House, as they stood in the old control room, "Get out of the way or you'll be atomized."

"Where are you coming through?" he asked her.

"I don't know."

"Oh great!" he opened his eyes and pulled Amy back.

~8~

"It's not going to hold much longer!" Evy yelled as they hurtled through space and into the TARDIS.

~8~

Amy and Rory hid behind a Y-shaped column as a golden swirl appeared in the room, the makeshift TARDIS with the Doctor, Evy, and Idris inside it, knocking them all to the ground.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, getting up, "Evy!" she ran over and hugged the woman tightly.

"Oh, not good," Idris winced as the Doctor moved to help her up, "Not good at all. How do you walk around in these things?"

He gently helped her sit, Evy moving to her side, "We're not quite there yet, just hold on," he turned to Amy and Rory, "Amy, this is…well…she's my TARDIS. Except she's a woman. She's a woman, and she's my TARDIS."

" _She's_ the TARDIS?" Amy pointed at Idris in shock.

"And she's a woman. She's a woman and she's the TARDIS."

"Did you wish _really_ hard?"

"Shut up," he whined at her teasing, "Not like that."

"Hello," Idris stood with help from Evy, "I'm…sexy."

"Oh…" the Doctor pointed at them, "Still shut up."

"Environment has been breached," House spoke up as the walls and lights grew green, "Nephew kill them all."

Amy and Rory looked around tensely for the Ood, "Where's Nephew?" Rory asked.

"He was standing right where you materialized…" Amy pointed.

"Ah, well, he must have been redistributed," the Doctor remarked.

"Meaning what?" Rory frowned.

"You're breathing him."

Amy and Rory covered their mouths in disgust, "Aw, come on…" Amy grimaced.

"Another Ood I failed to save," he sighed.

"Doctor, Evy, I did not expect you," House remarked.

"Well that's us all over, isn't it?" the Doctor clapped his hands and moved around the console, "Lovely, old, unexpected us."

"The big question is, now you're here…how to dispose of you. I could play with gravity…"

They collapsed on the ground, crushed by an unseen force, before they were released, Idris falling to the ground with Rory and Evy by her side.

"Or I could evacuate the air from this room and watch you choke…"

They all started gasping for air.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he saw Evy choke, before managing to get out, "You really don't want to do that!"

The air returned.

"Why shouldn't I just kill you now?" House wondered.

"Because then..." Evy gasped, "We can't help you."

The Doctor nodded as he ran to Evy's side, helping her up, holding her close as he looked out at the room, "Listen to your engines, just listen to them…you don't have the thrust and you know it. Right now we're your only hope for getting out of your little bubble, through the rift, and into our Universe. And ours is the one with the food in it."

"Water…" Idris gasped in Rory's ear.

"Just promise not to kill us," Evy added, "And we'll help. Just promise us."

"You can't be serious!" Amy shouted.

"Very serious," the Doctor nodded, taking Evy's hand, "I'm sure it's an entity of its word."

"Doctor!" Rory called, "She's burning up, she's asking for water."

They turned to Idris, the Doctor kneeling at her side, taking her hand while Evy crouched by her head, stroking her hair, "Hey, hang in there old girl," he whispered, "Not long now. It'll be over soon."

"Always liked it when you called me old girl," she wheezed.

"You want me to give my word?" House asked, "Easy, I promise."

"Fine, ok, we trust you," the Doctor nodded.

"If you delete 30 percent of the TARDIS rooms you'll free up enough thrust to make it through," Evy told him, "Activate sub routine sigma 9."

"Why would you tell me this?" House wondered.

The Doctor stood up, helping Evy up as well, "Because we want to get back to our Universe as badly as you do. And we're nice."

"Yes, I can delete rooms…and I can also rid myself of vermin, if I delete this room first. Thank you Doctor, Evy. That was very helpful. Goodbye Time Lords. Goodbye little humans. Goodbye Idris."

And then a bright light filled the room and they disappeared...

~8~

A light appeared in the main control room, depositing all of them, in the same spots, into it, "Yes, I mean you _could_ do that," the Doctor called, "But it just won't work. Have I mentioned? My Link is absolutely brilliant at backup plans."

"Set up a little hardwired failsafe," Evy nodded, "Any and all living things that are deleated from any room are automatically brought here to the main control room."

"But thanks for the lift."

"We are in your Universe now," House remarked as the Doctor walked around the console, Evy standing where she was before the humans, "Why should it matter to me in which room you die?" Evy glanced back at Idris as she whispered something to Rory, "I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me, I've killed hundreds of Time Lords."

"Fear us," Evy looked up, "We killed all of them."

"I don't understand, there isn't a forest in here?" Rory murmured to Idris.

"Yeah, you're right, you've completely won," the Doctor spoke up, "Oh you can kill us in oodles of really inventive ways…" he glanced at Idris, "But before you do kill us, allow us and our friends Amy and Rory to congratulate you on being a…" he pulled Amy to her feet, "Absolutely worthy opponent," he, Evy, and Amy started clapping.

"Congratulations?" Amy shook her head, confused.

Evy glanced at Idris as she closed her eyes.

"Yup, you've defeated us," the Doctor continued, "Me, my Link, our lovely friends here, and last, but definitely not least, the TARDIS matrix herself, a living consciousness you RIPPED out of this very control room and locked up into a human body."

"Look at her House," Evy breathed.

"Doctor, Evy," Rory called, "She's stopped breathing."

"Enough, that is enough," House rumbled as Amy made her way to Rory's side.

"No," Evy shook her head, glaring up as she walked towards the console, "It's _never_ enough. You forced the TARDIS into a flesh body knowing it would kill her. Just so she would burn out far away from this control room! A flesh body can't hold the TARDIS matrix and live. Look at her body House."

"And you think I should mourn her?"

"No, we think you should be very, _very_ careful about what you let back into this control room."

Idris opened her mouth and the golden Vortex energy poured out of her, flying around the room, around the Doctor and Evy, "You took her from her home!" the Doctor shouted, "But now she's back in the box again and she's _free_!" the light streamed around the room, bounding everywhere.

"No!" House groaned, "Doctor! Stop this! Evy! Ow! Stop this now!"

"Look at our girl, look at her go! Bigger on the inside!" he grinned as the light began to fight back the green, "See House…"

"Make her stop!"

"That's your problem…"

"Ahh!"

"Size of a planet but inside you are just so _small_!"

"Make it stop!"

"Finish him off girl," the Doctor called, turning to the console as it grew dark.

"No! Don't do this! Ah! Uh! No!"

"Doctor…" Evy breathed after a moment, seeing a golden glow form on the stairs. He turned around to see a ghostly image of Idris take shape behind them.

"Are you there?" Idris called, "Doctor? Evy? It's so very dark in here."

Evy stepped to his side and took his hand, smiling encouragingly at him as he stepped towards Idris, "We're here."

She looked down at them, "I've been looking for a word, a big, complicated word, one so sad. I found it now."

"What was it?" Evy asked her gently.

"Alive. I'm alive."

"Alive isn't sad," the Doctor shook his head slowly.

"It's sad when it's over. I'll always be here. But this is when we talked. And now even that has come to an end. There's something I didn't get to say to you..."

He nodded, looking down, with tears in his eyes, "Goodbye."

"No," he looked up at at her, "I just wanted to say hello, to both of you," she laughed tearfully, "Hello Doctor. Hello Evy. It's so very, _very_ nice to meet you," she sniffled.

"Please…" the Doctor whispered, Evy squeezing his hand, "I don't want you to go…"

Idris gave one last smile before leaning back, the light enveloping her as the TARDIS wheezing echoed around them. A soft 'I love you both…' whispered across their minds as Idris disappeared.

The Doctor stood there, tearfully, before turning to the console, bracing himself against it, so sad…and then a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He looked over to see Evy there, a soft, small smile of reassurance on her face though she too had tears in her eyes. She stepped closer to him and pulled him to her, holding him as he wept for the loss of a dear friend.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting in the harness under the glass floor, wires hanging around him as Evy stood on the top, working on something on the console.

There was a small spark as Rory looked down, "How's it going under there?" Rory called.

He looked up to see Rory standing and looking down while Amy knelt, watching him, "Eh, just putting a firewall around the matrix, almost done!"

"Are you gonna make her talk again?" Amy asked as Rory headed down the stairs.

"We can't," Evy remarked.

"Why not?" Rory glanced up at her.

"Spacey wacey, isn't it?" Amy guessed.

"Well," the Doctor began, "Actually it's because the Time Lords discovered that if you take an eleven dimensional matrix and fold it into a mechanical…" Rory crossed two wires and a very large spark made the Doctor jump, "Yes, it's spacy wacey!" he pulled his blackened goggles down.

"Sorry," Rory muttered, watching as the Doctor stood and looked at the wires, "Um, at the end, she was talking, she kept repeating something. I don't know what it meant…"

"What did she say?" Evy called down.

"'The only water in the forest is the river.' She said we'd need to know that some day. It doesn't make sense does it?"

The Doctor hunched over the small fuse box on the central pole, "Not yet."

"You ok?" Evy asked. The boys looked up to see her leaning on the railing, looking down at Rory as Amy walked down the stairs and sat on the steps.

"No," he sighed, "I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me, but it still does. I'm a nurse."

"Letting it get to you, you know what that's called?" the Doctor asked him, "Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive, right now, is all that counts," he gave them a smile and sat back down in the harness, "Two more minutes and then we're off. The Eye of Orion's restful if you like restful, I could never really get the hang of restful."

"What do you think dear?" Evy stroked the rotor, "Where should we take the kids this time?"

"Look at you both," Amy shook her head, watching them get to work, one above, one below, "It's always you and her isn't it, long after the rest of us have gone. A boy, a girl, and their box, off to see the Universe."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," the Doctor remarked, "But honestly it's the best thing there is," there was another spark as he glanced at Amy and Rory, "Uh, the House deleted all the bedrooms. I should probably make you two a new bedroom...you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Amy and Rory whispered for a bit before Amy turned to him, "Ok, um, Doctor, this time, could we lose the bunk beds?"

"No! Bunk beds are cool! A bed _with_ a ladder! You can't beat that!"

"Doctor," Evy called, looking down at him, "We don't have a bunk bed, neither should they."

"You two have a room?" Rory looked between them, cross between amused and surprised.

The Doctor blushed and waved Rory off, "It's your room."

Evy laughed, "Down the stairs, you'll find it eventually."

"Off you pop," they headed out as he pulled his goggles back on before crossing two more wires.

~8~

The Doctor stood at the console, watching as Evy wiped her hands on a rag and tossed it down. He flashed the controls with his sonic and grinned, "Are you there?" he called, looking around at the console, "Can you hear me?" but there was nothing. He sighed, "No, I'm a silly old…"

Evy gave him a peck to stop him talking. He looked at her a moment, confused as she was blocking her thoughts. She just smirked and pulled out her own sonic, pointing it at the rotor and flicking it on, "Sexy?" she called out.

He frowned, watching her a moment when…

' _Hello!_ ' Idris's voice echoed through his mind.

His eyes widened and he looked at Evy, stunned, seeing her smiling widely, her having heard it as well, "What?" he breathed, completely bewildered.

Evy walked over to him and took his hand, pointing at a small chip that reminded him of the Christmas gift from her attached to a few wires behind the Atom Accelerator.

"You made her _talk_ …" he gaped at her, stunned.

"Not exactly," she admitted, "It translates the matrix into Gallifreyan and projects it out to resonate with Time Lord brainwaves. It won't work when there are other species in the room, they wouldn't be able to handle it, but when it's one of us or both of us…"

He grinned widely and scooped her into his arms, spinning her around before pulling her into a deep kiss. His Link had once again done the impossible.

' _Are we going to the Eye of Orion now?_ ' the voice of the TARDIS called as their kiss grew a bit more intimate.

They blushed, pulling apart, and the Doctor rested a hand on the console, "Or wherever we need to go!"

He heard a small laugh in his mind as a lever pulled itself down, causing them to stumble for balance. They grinned at each other, laughing, before dashing around the controls to help.

~8~

Evy squirmed in bed later that night, the TARDIS having decided to postpone her next adventure so Amy and Rory could get some rest...and so her Time Lords could as well, the emotional turmoil of hoping for living Time Lords only to lose it and then finding a 'human' TARDIS only for her to 'die' was draining for them as well. She was currently trying not to wake the Doctor, but seeming to fail. She just couldn't get comfortable…

"Evy?" he blinked blearily at her, waking up from her movements, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she reassured him, "Sorry to wake you…I just…can't seem to sleep. Your child is rather active right now," she put a hand on her stomach, feeling the baby, tiny as it was, move.

He smiled, "I know just what to do," he leaned over, resting on his elbows so his face was just near her stomach, "The question of the hour is, who's got the Pandorica?" he spoke soothingly, though Evy could hear a sense of excitement in his voice as he recalled and was able to share what she had dubbed one of his many epic speeches with the baby, "Answer...we do. Next question, who's coming to take it from us? Come on! Look at us, no plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else, we don't have, anything...to...lose! So if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship, with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day we ever stopped you. And then, AND THEN, do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first."

Evy rolled her eyes, "That's just made it _worse_ ," their child was kicking frantically now, just as it always did whenever he made such a speech.

He laughed, resting his head on her stomach a moment before quietly singing what she recognized as an old Gallifreyan lullaby. She smiled softly at him, running her fingers through his hair as he sang their child to sleep, soothing it. She let out a contented sigh as their child quieted down, smiling as he dropped a small kiss onto her bump.

"Do you know what this means?" she asked him in a whisper.

He looked up at her, "What?"

"When the baby wakes up in middle of the night, _you_ get to check on it."

He laughed, making his way up to her to kiss her deeply, "I look forward to it," he wrapped his arms around her and they laid down once more, her resting slightly on her side, her head on his chest, his arm around her, his other hand resting on her stomach with her hand on top of his, both relishing in their luck and closeness, the joy they could feel bubbling inside them at the small life just beneath their palms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't that the sweetest scene ever? The Doctor singing a lullaby to his baby, awww... And I really loved Idris and Evy's interactions with the Doctor, they are so both his 'wives' lol. I could see them teaming up against him :)
> 
> As for the TARDIS talking, I figure, of all people, the one who could do the impossible and make her talk would be Evy, Amy's Impossible Girl. She didn't exactly get the TARDIS to talk, but the Time Lords can understand her now, as long as it's just them in the control room :) Can you imagine what it'll be like now with a TARDIS they can hear?
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor's dream haunts him still. Evy has cravings. What's this, Evy thinks Rory is more impressive than the Doctor?


	9. The Rebel Flesh

Muse's 'Supermassive Black Hole' was playing over the speakers of the TARDIS as Amy and Rory played a game of darts by the doors. Evy, garbed in her tan outfit with black boots and a white shirt, and the Doctor stood by the console, at the monitor, looking over the pregnancy scan of Amy's, still flashing positive/negative.

"46," Amy remarked as Rory tossed a dart that came just under the wires, "Rubbishy rubbishy rubbish."

"Hello, it's a double top," Rory countered.

"Wrong side of the wire, mister."

"You're…red."

Amy laughed, "No, I'm not. Stop trying to put me off," she moved to take her turn, when the Doctor and Evy exchanged a glance and nodded.

The Doctor flicked off the music, "Who wants fish 'n' chips?"

Rory raised his hand.

Evy smiled at him, "There's this lovely shop I used to go to, we'll drop you off."

"Take your time. Don't rush."

"Uh, and you two?" Rory eyed them.

"We…" Evy began when the Doctor cut her off.

"Have things to do, things involving...other things."

Evy could only put her head in her hand and shake her head, way to not make the humans curious by being vague.

"Well, we'll stay with you," Amy headed towards the stairs to the console, "We'll do the other things."

"Nope," the Doctor shook his head as Evy switched off the monitor.

"Whatever you two are up to, I, personally, would like to be a part of it," Amy scoffed, seeing them both look reluctant, "What?"

Before either of them could answer, the klaxon blared and the TARDIS began to thrash. Rory grabbed onto the railing as Amy clung to the console, trying to keep balance. The Doctor and Evy ran to the controls, trying to fly them out of whatever it was that was making the TARDIS react so violently.

"It's a Solar Tsunami," Evy read off the monitor, "From the sun. We're in the middle of a tidal wave of radiation."

"Oh, Evy," Rory moaned, gripping his stomach, "My tummy's going funny."

"Well, the gyros are dissipated," the Doctor muttered, "Target-tracking is out…" with a grunt the Doctor threw a lever up, but nothing happened. He looked at Evy, concerned, before shouting, "Assume the position!"

Amy fell down onto the jump seat, hands over her head, hunched over, while Rory knelt on the floor. The Doctor made his way over to Evy's side, as she knelt on the ground, pressed against the console for support, and put his arms around her, protecting her as they jostled about and landed with a crash. Amy and Rory looked up, panting, as the Doctor stood, helping Evy up.

"Textbook landing," he grinned.

Evy smacked him upside the back of the head with a huff.

~8~

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, tugging Evy behind him by the hand, to see they were on an island, a monastery style stone structure before them, partially in ruins. Evy's eyes, however, immediately went to the weathervane at the top of a spire sticking out of the top of the building.

"Behold!" the Doctor exclaimed as Amy and Rory stepped out behind them, "A cockerel. Love a cockerel. And, underneath, a monastery, 13th century."

"Oh, we've gone all medieval," Amy remarked.

"I'm not sure about that," Rory shook his head.

"Really? Medieval expert, are you?"

"No, it's just that...I can hear Dusty Springfield."

They listened carefully, hearing 'You Don't Have to Say You Love Me' playing softly in the air. The Doctor and Evy started walking towards a stairway that would lead into a courtyard, when they spotted a hole in the ground with an exposed pipe running through it.

"These fissures...they're new," Evy remarked, eyeing it, "Must have been made by the Solar Tsunami. It sends out a wave of gamma particles that caused a magnetic quake to hit just before the waves..."

"Well, the monastery's standing," Amy looked at it.

The Doctor pulled out a small snow globe from his pocket and shook it, "Yeah, for now…" he studied it intently and put it away.

"Doctor, look," Rory pointed to the pipe that had the words 'Danger Corrosive' etched on it.

"Ah, it's a _supply_ pipe!"

Evy scanned it quickly with her sonic, reading the results, "Ceramic inner lining. That's typically used for something corrosive."

"They're pumping something nasty off this island, to the mainland."

"My mum's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield," Rory commented, smiling as he listened to the song.

"Who isn't?"

"She tried to ask me on a date once," Evy remarked, thinking back on the singer. The Doctor's expression darkened till Evy kissed him lightly on the cheek, "If only I wasn't madly in love with you," she whispered to him.

He beamed, blushing lightly, as Amy and Rory smirked at him, his bouts of jealousy were adorable. He cleared his throat, "Right, let's go. Satisfy our rabid curiosity."

"OUR rabid curiosity?" Evy nudged him.

He sighed, slumping, pouting, "Alright, MY rabid curiosity."

Evy sighed, "I swear, if our child ends up as curious as you…" she eyed him intently and he frowned for a moment, she just grinned and kissed him again, "I'll love it all the more."

He beamed, taking her hand and leading her up the wooden stairs followed by Amy and Rory, who smiled at the sweet action, joining their own hands as they did.

~8~

They looked around the courtyard at some of the building, which was in ruins, a large portion still habitable though...barely.

"So, where are these Dusty Springfield-loving monks, then?" Amy asked.

The Doctor scanned the area, before turning to Evy, "I think we're here. This is it."

Rory frowned at that, "Doctor, what are you talking about? We've never been here before."

The Doctor and Evy exchanged a glance before climbing up another set of steps.

"We came here by accident," Amy added.

"'Accident?'" the Doctor glanced a back at them, "Yes, we know. Accident."

Rory reached out and touched one of the pipes running alongside the stairs and pulled his had away with a hiss of pain, "Ah! Ow!"

"Acid," Evy remarked, "So that's what's pumping off this island."

"That's old stuff though," the Doctor nodded at the pipe, "Fresh acid? You wouldn't have a finger," and then they turned and continued on as Amy examined Rory's hand.

An alarm began to blare, "Intruder alert. Intruder alert."

The Doctor stepped back out with a less than pleased looking Evy, "I told you, the front door approach _never_ works," she muttered.

He just squeezed her hand and turned to Amy and Rory, "There are people coming. Well, almost."

"Almost coming?" Amy asked.

"Almost people," he corrected, before turning to head off again with Evy.

Amy made to follow when Rory called out, "I think we should probably go."

"Come on!" Amy turned to him.

"I'm telling you, when something runs towards you, it's never for a nice reason."

Amy just hopped back down the stairs and took his arm, dragging him along.

~8~

The group burst into a room of the monastery to see human shaped harnesses occupied by people in orange jumpsuits in the windows, "What are all these harnesses for?" Amy asked.

"Uh, the almost people?" Rory guessed.

"What are they, prisoners? Or are they meditating, or what?"

"Well, at the moment, they fall into the 'or what' category," the Doctor remarked.

"Halt and remain calm," the computer blared.

"Well, we've halted. How are we all doing on the 'calm' front?" he glanced at them a moment, his gaze lingering on Evy a moment longer. She gave him a smile and a peck, reassuring him that she and the baby were both fine.

Just then a young man, an older man, and a young woman entered the room, the men holding lances pointed at them, "Don't...move!" the older man shouted.

"Stay back, Jen," the young man called, "We don't know who they are."

"So let's ask them," the young woman, Jen, remarked, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Evy," she introduced, "This is the Doctor and that's Amy and Rory."

Amy frowned, looking between the men before her and the two identical men standing in the harnesses, "Hold up. You're all…what are you all, like, identical twins?"

Another young man and an older woman in brown leather/metal-like suits entered from behind them, "This is an Alpha-grade industrial facility," the older woman stated, "Unless you work for the military or for Morpeth Jetson, you are in big trouble."

"Actually, _you're_ in big trouble," the Doctor turned, pulling out the psychic paper.

"Meteorological department, since when?"

"Since the solar wave hit," Evy added.

"Which we survived."

"Just, by the look of it," the Doctor glanced around, "And there's a bigger one on the way."

"Which we'll also survive. Dicken, scan for bugs."

The second young man, the one beside her, stepped forward, holding a scanner, "Backs against the wall," he ordered, "Now."

The Doctor, Amy, Rory, and Evy held up their hands and backed up to the wall, "This isn't a monastery," Evy remarked to Amy and Rory, "It's a factory. 22nd century, army-owned factory."

"You're army?" Amy eyed them skeptically.

"No, love, we're contractors and you're trespassers," the older woman rolled her eyes.

"It's okay, boss," Dicken called as he finished scanning.

"Alright, weatherman, your I.D. checks out," the woman gave the Doctor the paper back, her thoughts must have slipped because the paper now said 'Foreman Miranda Cleaves.' The Doctor smiled and put the paper in his pocket as Cleaves continued, "If there's another solar storm, what are you going to do about it, hand out sun block?"

The Doctor gave a fake laugh, "We need to see your critical systems."

"Which one?"

"You know which one," Evy stepped up beside him.

~8~

Cleaves led them into a room they dubbed 'the Flesh Room.' Near the back was a large vat on a raised platform with an open tub in front of it. The Doctor and Evy exchanged a glance before walking around to the opposite side of the vat, looking in at the white liquid bubbling inside, "And there you are," he murmured.

"Meet the government's worst kept secret, the Flesh," Cleaves remarked, "It's fully programmable matter. In fact, it's even learning to replicate itself at the cellular level."

"Right," Amy nodded, "Brilliant. Lost."

"Ok. Once a reading's been taken, we can manipulate its molecular structure into anything, replicate a living organism, down to the hairs on its chinny-chin-chin. Even clothes. And everything's identical, eyes, voice."

"Mind, soul," Evy breathed.

"Don't be fooled, Miss Daniels," Cleaves recalled her name from the I.D..

"Just Evy, thanks."

"It acts like life, but it still needs to be controlled by us from those harnesses you saw."

"Wait, whoa, hold it," Rory shook his head, "So...you're Flesh now?"

"I'm lying in a harness back in that chamber. We all are, except Jennifer, here. Don't be scared. This thing? Just like operating a forklift truck."

"You just said it was learning to grow," Evy countered, "Only living things can grow."

"Moss grows. It's no more than that. This acid is so dangerous, we were losing a worker every week. So now, we mine the acid, using these doppelgangers, or 'Gangers.' If these bodies get burnt or fall in the acid..."

"Then who the hell cares?" the young man, Ganger Buzzer, asked Jen, "Right, Jen?"

"Well, the nerve endings automatically cut off, like airbags being discharged, except we wake up and get a new ganger," Jen shrugged.

"It's weird," the older man, Ganger Jimmy, agreed, "But you get used to it."

"Jennifer, I want you in your Ganger," Ganger Cleaves ordered, "Get back to the harness."

Jen sighed but walked out.

The Doctor looked at Evy, ' _Let me do this yeah?_ '

She frowned and gave him a look, ' _Doctor, it's just Flesh…_ ' she smirked a bit, ' _What can possibly go wrong?_ '

' _I think I've answered that question too many times to count,_ ' he remarked before taking her hand, ' _Please. We don't know exactly what'll happen if it comes in contact with actual DNA. I don't want to risk something affecting the baby or you._ '

She pursed her lips, wanting to argue, but sighed. Ever since his dream he'd been very protective over the child growing within her and her as well. She knew it shook him up terribly to dream of them both dying, he tried not to let it show, but she could see it, in everything he did, just how worried he was. She nodded, ' _Fine, go on and be the hero._ '

He smiled, giving her a small peck of thanks before pulling out his sonic and scanning the Flesh.

"Hang on," Ganger Buzz glared at him, "What's he up to? What are you up to, pal?"

The Doctor struggled, trying to move his arm away, frowning in effort.

"Oi!" Evy shouted at the Flesh, "Stop it."

Whatever pull was on the Doctor let go at that and he nearly fell back, "Ah!" he took a breath and looked at her, conveying the experience to her, "Strange. It was like, for a moment there, it was scanning me," he put the sonic back in his pocket and reached out to touch his hand to the top of the liquid.

"Doctor…" Ganger Cleaves began.

"Ah," he grimaced in pain as his hand shook, struggling to pull it away once more.

"Get back, Doctor. Leave it alone!"

Evy reached out and took his arm, helping to pull him away, just knowing that the pull was stronger this time with a physical contact, "Ah!" he groaned, "Ah! Ah! Gah!" he pulled away with a gasp, "I understand," he turned to Evy and took her head in his hands, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against her own as she did the same, relaying everything to her.

"Doctor…" Amy began slowly, knowing what they were doing, "Are you alright?"

Evy's eyes snapped open with a gasp, "That's incredible."

He nodded and looked at Amy, "You have no idea. No idea. I mean, I felt it in my mind. I reached out to it and it, to me."

"Don't fiddle with the money, Doctor," Ganger Cleaves rolled her eyes.

Evy shook her head at the woman, "How can you be so blind? This," she gestured at the vat, "Is alive, _so_ alive. And you keep putting your lives, your personalities, right into it."

Lightning crashed behind them as the Doctor took out the snow globe once more, the ground shaking, "It's the solar storm. The first waves come in pairs, pre-shock and full shock, it's close."

"Buzz, have we got anything from the mainland yet?" Ganger Cleaves turned to him.

"No, the comms. are still too jammed with radiation," Ganger Buzz replied.

"Ok, then we'll keep pumping acid until the mainland says stop. Now, why don't you stand back and let us impress you," she took a few steps back and they watched as the tub filled with Flesh.

As they watched, a face began to form, the mouth and then the eyes. The Flesh began to squeeze together into a human form, taking the shape of Jennifer, even her clothes, looking just like her, except her face wasn't fully-formed. She sat up with a gasp, now fully-formed.

"Well, I can see why you keep it in a church," the Doctor remarked, his arm winding around Evy's stomach, "The miracle of life."

"No need to get poncey," Ganger Buzzer scoffed, "It's just gunge."

"Guys, we need to get to work," Ganger Cleaves reminded them.

"Ok, everybody," Ganger Jimmy helped Ganger Jen out, "Let's crack on."

"Did we mention the solar storm?" the Doctor looked at them.

"What you need to do is get out of here, now," Evy agreed.

"Well, where do you want us to go?" Ganger Jimmy turned to them, "We're on a tiny island."

"Well, we can get you all off it," the Doctor told them.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ganger Cleaves scoffed, "We've got a job to do."

Evy's grip on the Doctor's hand tightened as she looked out the window, able to see the storm approaching now, "It's coming."

An alarm started blaring, actually causing the Gangers to pause, "That's the alarm," Ganger Jen looked up.

"How do you get power?" the Doctor turned to her.

"We're solar and we use a solar router," Ganger Cleaves called, "The weathervane."

"Big problem."

"Boss, maybe if the storm comes back, we should get underground," Ganger Jimmy suggested, "The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit."

"We have 200 tons of acid to pump out," Ganger Cleaves shook her head, "We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?"

"Please," Evy reached out and took the woman's arm, "You're about to make the worst mistake of your life right now. You have to prepare for this storm or you'll all be in terrible danger..."

"My factory, my rules," she yanked her arm away and headed off.

The Doctor shook his head at her and turned to Ganger Jen, "I need to check the progress of the storm," he snapped his fingers at her, "Monitoring station," she hesitated and he snapped his fingers once more, "Monitoring station!"

"Three lefts, a right, and a left," Ganger Jen replied, "Third door on your left."

"Thank you," he took Evy's hand and pulled her out with Amy and Rory.

~8~

They ran into the monitoring station as the building began to shake from the storm just about to hit it. In the center of the room was a circular bank of instruments.

The Doctor turned to them, "The wave's disturbing the Earth's magnetic field. There is going to be the mother and father of all power surges. You see this weathervane, the cock-a-doodle-doo?"

"It's a solar router," Evy explained, "It's what's feeding the whole factory with solar power."

"When that wave hits...kaboom," he turned to Evy, kissing her forehead quickly and then pressing his fingers to his lips, kissing it and pressing it gently onto her stomach, "Stay here and keep a look out on the instruments. I've got to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose!" he ran for the door, before stopping and chuckling, "I never thought I'd have to say _that_ again."

Evy smiled at him lightly as he ran out, "Amy, you and Rory head back to the Harness Room yeah?" Evy turned to her, moving to sit before the instruments, "Keep an eye on them?" Amy nodded and turned to go when she called out once more, "Just remember to breathe, ok?"

Amy gave her a curious look, "Ok…I'll try?"

~8~

The Doctor ran across the roof of the monestary, towards the tower where the solar router was stationed. He glanced back at a small camera in the corner of a building and winked up, knowing Evy was watching him through it, before turning and climbing up a ladder on the side of the tower. He made it halfway up, to the small power box set in its side, and reached out for it, wrenching it open.

A moment later, lightning struck the tower, knocking him off it and onto the battlement.

~8~

The Doctor came to with a gasp, sitting up and looking at the top of the weathervane, which was gone, before jumping to his feet and scrambling back into the monastery. He raced down the stairs and down a corridor to the monitoring station, his hearts nearly stopping when he spotted Evy on the ground, on her side, unconscious. The dream flashed across his eyes and he ran to her side, skidding to his knees as he reached out to her, sonicing her quickly to see if she and the baby were alright, breathing a sigh of relief to see nothing was wrong, they were both just fine.

He reached out and stroked her hair, gently waking her, "Theta?" she asked, blinking blearily as she woke. When she realized she was on the ground she sat up quickly, her hand on her stomach.

He reached out and took her hand, "It's alright. Luna, it's fine, you're both fine," she looked at him, "I checked, you're fine," she let out a breath of relief, so similar to his own, and he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly a moment before pulling back to bestow a small kiss on her lips and helping her up.

They headed out of the monitoring station and down another set of stairs to the main courtyard, only to see Cleaves standing there, bewildered.

"Cleaves, you're not in your harness!" he called.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, Miss Daniels," she looked at them.

"Just Evy," Evy waved her off.

"You were right."

"The factory's lost power," Evy told her, having recalled that much of the power being overloaded before she was knocked out by a jolt that went through the entire factory.

"I abandoned my team."

"Then let's go get them," the Doctor told her, the two of them leading Cleaves back inside.

~8~

They walked quietly through the tunnels of the monastery when Evy glanced at Cleaves curiously, "How long do you think we were knocked unconscious, Cleaves?"

"Not long," she shrugged, "A minute, two minutes?"

"I'd hazard we've been out a teensy bit longer," the Doctor remarked.

"Well, how long?"

"An hour," he told her solemnly, "We've seen whole worlds turned inside-out in an hour. A lot can go wrong in an hour."

Cleaves sighed and they continued on.

~8~

"Doctor, Evy," Amy called as they entered the Harness Room to see Dicken, Jimmy, and Buzz standing by her, a rather distraught Jen held in Rory's arms as he tried to comfort her, "Look, these are all real people. So where are their Gangers?"

"Don't worry, when the link shuts down, the Gangers return to pure Flesh," Cleaves told them, "Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time."

And then they heard it…Dusty Springfield playing in the distance.

"That's my record," Jimmy frowned, "Who's playing my record?"

"Your Gangers I would think," Evy told them calmly.

"They've gone for a walkabout," the Doctor smiled.

"No, it's impossible," Cleaves shook her head, "They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves, and Gangers don't…"

They all turned to look at the direction the music was coming from.

~8~

A record was playing in the dining hall as they entered through a few thick plastic strips hanging in the doorway.

"No way," Buzz breathed.

"I don't…I don't believe this," Cleaves had to agree.

"They could've escaped through the service door in the back," Jimmy looked around.

"This is just like the Isle of Sheppey," Buzz remarked.

The Doctor sat at the table, gently pulling Evy onto his lap so as not to disturb the house of cards set up before them, "It would seem the storm has animated your Gangers," he commented.

"They've ransacked everything," Cleaves frowned.

"No, they've _searched_ everything," Evy corrected.

"Through our stuff?"

" _Their_ stuff too now."

"Searching for what?" Jimmy asked.

"Confirmation that their memories are real."

"Oh, so they've got flaming memories now?" Buzz glared.

"They feel compelled to connect to their lives, yeah," the Doctor defended, glaring back at the man glaring at his Link.

"Their _stolen_ lives," Cleaves countered.

"Their _bequeathed_ lives," Evy continued to correct, "You _gave_ them this. All of you. You poured everything into the Flesh each and every time, your personalities, you emotions and traits and memories and secrets. You essentially _gave them_ your lives."

"Human lives are _amazing_ ," the Doctor agreed, "Are you surprised they walked off with them?"

"I'll say it again," Buzz shook his head, "Isle of Sheppey. Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator, right there in his harness. I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was…"

"Even if this has actually happened, they can't remain stable without us plumbed into them, can they, boss?" Jimmy looked at her.

"I guess we'll find out," Cleaves sighed.

Jennifer gasped and put a hand to her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Rory looked at her, "Do you need some water?"

"I feel funny. I need the washroom…" she turned and ran out of the room.

"I'll come with you," Rory told her, glancing back at Evy who nodded in acknowledgement.

Dicken sneezed, "Sorry."

The Doctor leaned forward, wrapping his arms more around Evy in the process of looking at the cards intently.

"That's me," Buzz remarked, seeing it, "It's good to have a hobby. So, what, my Ganger did that, all on its own?"

"Who taught you to do this?" he asked.

"Me granddad."

"Well, your Ganger's granddad taught him to do it too."

"You both have the _same_ childhood memories, just as clear and just as real," Evy nodded.

"No," Buzz knocked the cards down.

The Doctor frowned at him, "They're scared, disorientated, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads."

~8~

The Doctor stood at a microwave, the others gathered around the table, Amy and Evy sitting down at it, "We need to protect ourselves," Jimmy decided.

"You're not a violent man are you Jimmy?" Evy looked at him, studying him, as the Doctor put a bit of food on a plate into the microwave.

"No."

"So why do you think the other Jimmy would be either?"

Cleaves glanced over at the Doctor and frowned, "Don't tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor."

"Well my Link _is_ pregnant," he shrugged, "Must keep up her strength."

Evy rolled her eyes at him, "Oh, _now_ he wants to feed me, but when I asked if we could stop by Melissa Majoria for a bit of honey to put on my toast he's all…"

"You told us that we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves," the Doctor cut in, blushing, "When, in fact, it was an hour."

"Sorry, I just assumed…" Cleaves shook her head.

"Well, it's not your fault. Like I said, they're disorientated. Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harness?" the timer on the microwave went off and the Doctor pulled out the plate using a towel as a pot holder.

"Um, Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out," Amy stated.

"And Jennifer?" Evy asked her.

"She was standing on her own when we got to her."

The Doctor turned and handed the plate to Cleaves who held it in her hand, not even flinching, "It's hot," he told her.

Cleaves hissed and dropped the plate which shattered on the floor, "Ah!"

"The transmatter must still be a bit rubbery," Evy stood as the Doctor examined Cleaves's hand.

He nodded, "The nerve endings are not quite fused properly."

Ganger Cleaves pulled her hand away, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's alright," Evy moved to reassure the woman.

"Why didn't I _feel_ that?"

"You will. When you stabilize..."

"No, stop it. You're playing stupid games. Stop it!" she turned her back on them.

The Doctor slowly approached Ganger Cleaves, motioning for Evy to stay back. The Gangers were scared, no telling how they would lash out or who at. He turned back to Ganger Cleaves speaking softly, "You don't have to hide. Please, trust me. I'm the Doctor."

Ganger Cleaves turned on him with a hiss, her face half-formed.

Buzzer grabbed a knife from the table and headed towards her but Jimmy held him back, "Where's the real Cleaves, you thing?" Buzzer demanded, "What have you done with her?"

"That's it, good," the Doctor ignored Buzzer, trying to calm Ganger Cleaves, "You remember. This is early Flesh, the early stages of the technology. So much..." he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, "To learn."

"Doctor, what's happened to her?" Amy asked as she moved to stand by Evy.

"She's having a hard time stabilizing," Evy explained, "She'll be shifting from half-formed to full-formed on and off."

"We are living!" Ganger Cleaves shouted before lunging at the Doctor with a growl and running out of the room.

"Let her go," the Doctor called.

Evy's eyes widened as she turned to the Doctor, "Doctor, what about Rory?"

"'Rory?'"

Amy gasped, realizing something as well, "Rory!"

"Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory!"

~8~

The Doctor, Evy, Amy, and Jimmy ran through one of the doors to the monastery, from one building to another, only to find their way blocked by acid on the ground, "The explosion must've ruptured the acid feeds," Jimmy realized, "We're going to need the acid suits."

"No, no, no, we haven't got time," the Doctor tugged Evy back, "Back, back, back," they turned and ran back into the monastery.

~8~

Somehow they managed to reach the washroom where Jen had run off to with Rory, only to see it empty, a hole in the stall door, "Rory!" Amy shouted, looking around for him.

"Of course," the Doctor realized, "Jennifer's a Ganger, too."

"Doctor, you said they wouldn't be violent…"

"No, he said they would be scared, angry," Evy corrected gently.

"And early technology, is what you said," Jimmy looked at the Doctor, "You seem to know something about the Flesh."

"Do you?" Amy eyed them, "Doctor? Evy?"

"You're no weathermen. Why are you really here?"

"I have to talk to them," the Doctor decided, looking at Evy, "I can fix this."

"Maintenance Man of the Universe again eh?" she asked him lightly, "Well, let's go."

They ran from the room, Amy following.

"Wait!" Jimmy called after them, "What's going on? Where's the real Jennifer?"

They ran through the tunnels, reaching the top of a set of stairs and down another tunnel when steam burst from a pipe before them, forcing them back. They looked down to see acid on the ground as well, "It is too dangerous out here with acid leaks!" the Doctor stepped back.

"We have to find Rory," Amy insisted.

"Yes," he nodded, turning to them, "I'm going back to the TARDIS. Wait for me in the dining hall…"

"Oh no," Evy shook her head, "I'm coming with you."

"No, Evy, no," he put his hands on her shoulders, "Please, there's acid _everywhere_ , I…I _need_ you to stay somewhere safe, for now, please?"

She sighed, "Fine…" he began to smile, "But I want in on the next adventure yeah?"

He nodded and kissed her forehead, looking over at Amy and Jimmy, "I want us to keep together, ok? No more wandering off."

"And what about Rory?" Amy asked.

"It _would_ be safer trying to find Rory and Jen using the TARDIS," Evy had to admit.

Amy nodded, agreeing.

Jimmy looked around and spotted a box on the wall, rushing over to it, "Here we go…" he yanked it open and pulled out a large container, "Distress flares!" he shut the box and turned around, jumping as the Doctor was now right behind him.

"Exit?" he asked.

"Keep going straight, can't miss it. But you're never going to get your vehicle in here."

"I'm a great parker…" he began when Evy snorted. He just rolled his eyes at her, kissing her quickly before heading off.

Amy glanced over at the acid dripping from a pipe onto the ground, "Ew."

"We really need those acid suits," Jimmy remarked, "I've sent Buzzer and Dicken to get them."

"Fine and dandy. I'm just going to find my husband. Evy?"

"Right there with you," Evy linked her arms with Amy.

"So...cheers!"

"But...I wouldn't..." Jimmy began.

"I would," Evy countered.

Amy smiled at her, "What can you do, eh?" and they headed down the tunnel.

"At least wait for an acid suit!" Jimmy ran after them.

~8~

The Doctor ran into the Flesh Room, quickly making his way over to the vat of Flesh. He pulled out the sonic and scanned it once more, making the liquid bubble before running out of the room.

In the vat, a mouth appeared on the surface, "Trust me…" it whispered.

~8~

The Doctor stopped short, looking down at the TARDIS, half-sunk into the acid drenched earth, "Oh...what are you doing down there?" he frowned, the chip Evy had created only worked for the control room, so he couldn't hear her reply. He let out a breath, "Really!"

He started to search his pocket for his sonic when he stopped, realizing quite quickly that he was standing in a puddle of acid, which was now eating away at his boots. He quickly pulled his feet from them and jumped back onto the clean earth, narrowly avoiding the acid at the bottom of the shoes before heading up the stairs and back into the monastery.

~8~

Rory was walking through the monastery courtyard with Ganger Jen, "Are you sure you're feeling better? No more super-elastic punches?"

"I'm...different now, stronger," Ganger Jen smiled at him.

"The Doctor won't hurt you and neither will Evy. They want to help, Jennifer, ok?"

"You used my name. You used _my name_! Thank you!" she kissed him on the cheek, "Amy's a lucky girl."

"Yeah," he grinned smugly, "She is," he sighed and headed on, "Let's go."

Neither of them noticed Cleaves waiting for them to pass before darting out of an alcove.

~8~

Amy walked through the tunnels, taking the lead of Evy, who was using her sonic as a torch for them all, when she stopped by a large wooden door at the end of it, "Rory?" she called, "Rory?" she slowly pushed the door open and peeked in as Evy turned to look back down the tunnel.

A moment later Amy jumped back with a gasp, slamming the door shut.

"Amy?" Evy turned to her, concerned, "What's wrong?"

"Amy!" Rory's voice shouted.

They whirled around and spotted Rory at the end of the tunnel, "You're okay!" Amy breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards him, "What happened?" she stopped suddenly, seeing Ganger Jen standing behind him.

"She needs protecting," Rory told them.

Just then Dicken and Buzzer found them, "Jen?" Dicken looked at her.

"No, it's a Ganger," Amy shook her head, "Rory, listen…"

"No, _you_ listen," Rory cut in, " _Nobody_ touches her!"

Evy smiled, "Well said Rory," she nodded at him proudly before stepping past him and taking Ganger Jen's hand, squeezing it in reassurance as she turned to Rory, "Look at you, stepping up as the tall dark hero. That was, quite possibly, more impressive than the Doctor."

Rory blinked a moment and smiled at that.

' _Thanks love,_ ' the Doctor remarked, mock offended, in her mind.

She just laughed softly to herself and turned to lead the way back to the dining hall.

~8~

The Doctor entered the Acid Room, looking around at the acid suits lying on the ground, before spotting the half-formed Gangers standing beside them, "Hello," he grinned, "How are we all getting on?"

"Why don't _you_ tell _us_?" Ganger Cleaves glared.

"Well, we have two choices. The first is to tear each other apart, not my favorite, the second is to knuckle down and work together. Try to work out how best we can help you."

~8~

The Doctor walked out of the Acid Room a short while later, leading the Gangers down the tunnels, all of them now fully-formed, "Now, I know it's hard for you to hold your fully human form, that's why you keep shifting between the Flesh stages, but do try. It'll make the others less scared of you."

As they walked on Ganger Cleaves, the last in the line, stopped and twisted her neck 180 degrees, hearing something behind them. She just missed the real Cleaves ducking down before turning and continuing on.

~8~

Ganger Jen sat on one side of the table in the dining hall with Rory and Evy beside her, across from Buzzer, Jimmy, Dicken, and Amy, "Where's Jen?" Buzzer glared, "What have you done with her?"

"I haven't seen her," Ganger Jen stated, "I swear. But, look, _I'm_ her. I'm just like her. I'm _real_."

"You're a copy," Jimmy shook his head, "You're just pretending to be like her."

Evy rolled her eyes, "It's not pretending. She has the same memories, the same mannerisms, everything about her is the same, copied to a T. This _is_ Jennifer Lucas, _another_ Jennifer Lucas."

"She's right!" Ganger Jen nodded quickly.

"Rory," Amy whispered to him, "Um, we don't really know anything about them yet…"

"Well…" he began, "I know that she's afraid and she needs our help."

"Rory…"

"Jimmy, Buzzer, come on, you guys," Ganger Jen continued, "We've worked together for _two years_."

"I work with Jennifer Lucas, not you," Buzzer nearly spat.

"I'm going to smack you if you don't stop Buzzer," Evy warned him.

"Ok, let's not do anything at all," Amy cut in.

"Until the Doctor gets here," the Doctor called at the same time as Amy as he stepped into the room, "Hello!" he walked right over to Evy dropping a kiss onto her head for defending Ganger Jen.

The crew's eyes widened as they spotted Gangers Jimmy, Cleaves, Buzzer, and Dicken enter the room as well.

"This is…" Jimmy began.

"You're telling me," his Ganger nodded.

Ganger Cleaves rolled his eyes, "Alright, Doctor, you've brought us together, now what?"

"Before we do anything," the Doctor turned to them, "I have one very important question, has anybody got a pair of shoes I could borrow? Size 10?" they looked down to see him standing there in his socks.

"Be warned, he has very wide feet," Evy added. The Doctor pouted at that and she gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Which I happen to love. They suit you," she tweaked his bow-tie, "Like this."

He beamed.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting at the edge of the table, beside Evy, now wearing brown work boots while Amy stood behind them. To one side were the original crew and the Gangers on the other, though Rory was standing beside Ganger Jen as well. They both knew why he'd taken to protecting and helping her, he'd lived nearly 2,000 years as a plastic centurion, knowing he wasn't the real Rory but with all his memories and thoughts. He, out of all of them, could relate.

"The Flesh was never _just_ moss," Evy said pointedly to Ganger Cleaves, "These Gangers are _not_ copies. The storm animated them and now, they're becoming real people."

"With souls?" Jimmy asked.

"Rubbish," Dicken scoffed, before sneezing.

"Bless you," his Ganger called as Ganger Cleaves shot him a look, "What?"

"We were all jelly once," the Doctor remarked, his arm around Evy's waist, stroking the side of her stomach, "Little jelly eggs, sitting in goop."

"Yeah, thanks," Amy grimaced, not needing him to start on about the creation of their baby to accompany the evidence that there was a baby, "Too much information."

"We are not talking about an accident that needs to be mopped up. We are talking about sacred _life_. Do you understand? Good. Now, the TARDIS is trapped in an acid pool…"

"Knew it," Evy mumbled.

"Once we can reach her, we can get you all off this island, humans and Gangers, eh, how does that sound?"

"Can we get home for Adam's birthday?" Jimmy asked.

"What about me?" his Ganger looked at him, "He's my son, too."

" _You?_ You _really_ think that?"

"I feel it."

"Oh, so you were there when he was born, were you?"

"Yeah. I drank about eight pints of tea and they told me I had a wee boy and I just burst out laughing," he laughed as well, "No idea why. I miss home. As much as you."

"Look, we're not going to lie to you," Evy cut in, "It this is quite the mess…"

"But, as you might say up north," the Doctor added, "'Oh, well, I'll just go to t' foot of the stairs.' Ha ha ha. Eh, by by, gum…" they looked at him, "Or not."

"No," Evy agreed.

"Good. Right. The first step is we get everyone together, then get everyone safe, then get everyone out of here."

"But we're still missing Jennifer and Cleaves," Amy reminded them.

"I'll go and look for them," Jimmy offered, heading for the door.

"I'll give you a hand, if you like," his Ganger joined him, "Cover more ground."

"Yeah. Ok. Thanks."

As everyone looked at the Jimmys getting along, they didn't see Cleaves enter behind them, "This circus has gone on long enough!" she shouted. They looked over to see some sort of device, crackling with electricity, in her hand.

"Oh, great," her Ganger remarked, "You see, that is just so typically me."

"Doctor, tell _it_ to _shut up._ "

"Please, no," the Doctor turned to Cleaves, "No! No!"

"Circuit probe," Evy recognized the device.

Cleaves nodded, "Fires about, oh, 40,000 volts. It would kill any one of us, so I guess she'll work on Gangers, just the same."

"It's interesting you refer to them as 'it,' but you call a glorified cattle prod a 'she,'" the Doctor frowned.

"When the real people are safely off this island, then I'll happily talk philosophy over a pint with you, Doctor."

"What are you going to do to them?" Amy eyed her worriedly.

"Sorry, they're monsters, mistakes. They have to be destroyed."

"Give me the probe, Cleaves," the Doctor took a step towards her.

"We always have to take charge, don't we Miranda?" her Ganger asked her, "Even when we don't really know what the hell is going on."

Ganger Buzzer suddenly charged at Cleaves and she fired at him three times. He fell to the ground, unmoving. The Doctor and Evy ran over to him, Evy scanning him quickly with her sonic.

"Stop!" the Doctor shouted, "Oh! Ah! He's dead!"

"We call it 'decommissioned,'" Cleaves smirked, moving the probe towards Ganger Jen who gasped and ducked behind Rory.

"You stopped his heart," Evy looked at the scans, "He had _a heart_!"

"Aorta!" the Doctor nodded, "Valves, a real, human heart! And you _stopped_ it."

"Jen?" Rory tried to look at her as she backed away from him.

"What happened to Buzz will happen to us all, if we trust you!" Ganger Jen cried.

The Doctor stood, taking a step in between Cleaves and Evy, "Wait, wait. Just wait."

"No!" Rory shouted as Cleaves moved to fire at Ganger Jen. He knocked her to the ground, taking the probe away from her, the Gangers taking the advantage and running out of the room.

"You idiot!" Cleaves glared at him.

"Wait!" Evy turned to the Gangers but they were gone.

"Look at what you've done, Cleaves," the Doctor shook his head at her as Rory stood.

"If it's war, then it's war," Cleaves remarked, "You don't get it, Doctor. How can you? It's us and them now," she turned to her crew, "Us...and them."

"Us and them," Dicken nodded.

Jimmy sighed, "Us and them."

"Us and them," Buzzer agreed readily.

"You _do_ realize she just KILLED _you_ , don't you?" Evy asked Buzzer.

The Doctor could only sigh, unhappy with this turn of events.

~8~

Jennifer limped into the Flesh Room, falling against the wall, her hand gripping her injured leg when a dark shadow in the back caught her attention. A figure was there, leaning on the pillar, his hand inhumanly pale, "Trust me…" it rasped.

She gasped and ran out of the room, terrified.

~8~

Amy and Rory were kneeling on the floor beside Ganger Buzzer, trying to cover him up as they conversed, while the crew stood behind them discussing options, "Don't be like that," Rory whispered to Amy, "She's real."

"You killed him!" Jimmy hissed at Cleaves.

Evy shook her head and looked at the Doctor, ' _It won't take them long to retaliate,_ ' she told him, ' _And we're sitting ducks here. We need to find some place to hide._ '

He nodded and turned to Cleaves, "The most fortified and defendable room in the monastery? Cleaves! The most fortified and defendable room in the monastery?"

"The chapel," she replied, turning to him.

"Thank you!"

"Only one way in, stone walls, 2 feet thick."

"You've crossed one hell of a line, Cleaves," he muttered, taking Evy's hand, "You've killed one of them. They're coming back. In a big way," and pulled her out of the room, the others following.

~8~

"What about the flares?" Jimmy asked as they ran down the tunnels towards the chapel.

"We'll worry about the flares after we get somewhere safe," Evy remarked as they ran to the chapel room, the humans rushing through first, leaving the time travelers outside.

"Rory Pond," the Doctor called as Rory hesitated, hearing Jennifer scream.

"Rory?" Amy turned to him, "Come on."

"Jen's out there, isn't she?" Evy realized.

He nodded, "She's out there and she's on her own," he turned and headed back down the tunnel.

"Well, if she's got any sense, then she's hiding," the Doctor remarked, "Rory!"

"I can't leave her out there!"

"Rory!"

Rory shook his head and looked at the Time Lords, "I know you understand that."

Evy nodded, "Go find her."

"Don't listen to her!" Amy shook her head, "Get in here. Get in here!"

The Gangers arrived at the end of the hallway, dressed in acid suits. Rory glanced back at them and dashed off through a side corridor.

"There they are!" Cleaves shouted, spotting the Gangers as well.

"Amy," the Doctor turned, grabbing Amy by the arm and pulling her through the doorway.

"Rory!" Amy struggled as Evy slammed the door shut and locked it with her sonic.

The Doctor pulled her more into the chapel, out of the path of the door as the crew ran around trying to barricade it as well, "Amy, Amy," he struggled to get her attention, "They are not after him, they're after us."

"Why?" a voice whispered from the back of the room, "Why?"

The Doctor stiffened and moved to stand before Evy, looking out into the dark, "Show yourself. Show yourself!"

"Ah!" it groaned.

The Doctor cautiously approached the corner, trying to see what was hidden back there. Evy moved to his side, even as he tried to keep her behind him.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, seeing him get distracted.

"Pass me the barrel," Cleaves called.

"We need something heavy," Dicken remarked, "Anything you can find."

Jimmy laughed, "This is insane. We're fighting ourselves."

"Yes, it's insane and it's about to get even more insanerer," the Doctor agreed, glancing at Evy, "Is that a word?" and then back to the shadows, "Show yourself! Right now!"

"Doctor!" Amy tried again, "We are trapped in here and Rory is out there, with them. Hello! We can't get to the TARDIS and we can't even leave the island."

"Correct, Pond," the Doctor's voice said, though he clearly wasn't the one talking, the sound was coming from the shadows, "It's frightening, unexpected, frankly, a total, utter, splattering mess on the carpet, but I'm certain, 100 percent certain, that we can work this out."

Evy frowned, figuring something out, and stepped forward, one hand on her stomach, the other held out before her, "Go on," she called reassuringly, "I know you want to say it."

A pale hand reached out and took hers, stepping into the light, to reveal a Ganger Doctor with his face half-formed. He smiled at them, tweaking his bow-tie, "Trust me. I'm the Doctor."

To be continued…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter...what will happen with the Link with TWO Doctors there? Will Evy be able to keep two Doctors and their egos in check? Amy gets a lesson in the fury of a Time Lord.


	10. The Almost People

The Ganger Doctor screamed and twisted as he absorbed all of the Doctor's memories, feelings, and experiences, "What's happening?" he cried, "I wonder if we'll get back. Yes, one day...agh! I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow."

"The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations," the Doctor realized as he held Evy's hand tightly, watching himself struggle, "Hold on!"

The Ganger thrust out his hand, his fourth incarnation speaking, "Would you like a Jelly Baby?" before pulling back, "Why? Why!?"

"Why? Why what?"

He straightened up, channeling his last incarnation's manner and speech, "Hello. I'm the Doctor," before wincing, "No, let it go, we've moved on!"

"Hold on, hold on, you _can_ stabilize!" he ran to his Ganger's side as Amy tried to approach them, Jimmy pulling her back.

"I've reversed the Jelly Baby of the neutron flow," he grabbed the Doctor's jacket, "Would you like a...Doctor...Doctor...I'm...I'm the...I can't..."

"No, listen, hold on. Hold on!"

"No!" he shoved the Doctor away, hunching over, "Argh" and when he lifted his face it was only half-formed.

~8~

Buzzer looked over as the Ganger Doctor grabbed his head in pain, "I think I liked it best when they were being nosy."

Evy glanced over at the Doctor watching, not the Ganger, but her, with concern. She frowned and walked over to him, "What is it?" she asked quietly.

"He's me," he breathed, turning to look at his Ganger as he struggled to stabilize.

"Yes…he is. And?"

He took her hand, squeezing it tightly as he turned to her, "What's to stop you from being his as well?"

" _That's_ what the pouty face is about?" she nearly laughed. He looked away and she tilted his head back, kissing him reassuringly, "Do you not remember 10.2?" he eyed her oddly at the name she'd give his half-human, meta-crisis self, "He was you as well."

He shook his head, "He was half human and formed from _your_ regeneration energy. This one is _exactly_ me."

She smiled at him softly, "I will tell you what I have told everyone else. There could be someone just like you, in every way, but I would still only love YOU," she looked at him pointedly, "YOU are my Link. I can feel it pulling me to YOU even now. And…" she reached out and put his other hand to her stomach, feeling the baby thump their hands which it hadn't done when she'd taken the Ganger's hand before, "YOU are the only one our child kicks for."

He smiled at her, genuine relief in his eyes as he leaned forward and kissed her, neither of them noticing the Ganger Doctor look up, smiling at them softly, though sadly as well.

~8~

Amy walked over to the Doctor as he stood, watching his Ganger wince, Evy patting the other him's back comfortingly as he felt the last pains of stabilization hit him.

"Doctor, we need you," Amy called, "Get over here!"

"Hello!" the Ganger looked up, nodding his thanks to Evy as she walked back to the Doctor's side.

"Doctor!"

"Cybermats," the Doctor continued.

"Do we have time for this?" his Ganger asked.

"We make time. I'd like more proof that you're me. Cybermats?"

"Created by the Cybermen. They kill by feeding off brainwaves."

Amy rolled her eyes and turned back to the door, "Are you sure there aren't any big guns with bits on?"

"Yeah, big guns would be good right now," Buzzer had to agree.

Jimmy just turned and fell back against the door, "Why would we have guns? We're a factory. We mine…"

There was a hissing noise behind them as smoke rose through the door, "Acid…" Amy finished as the Gangers on the other side pounded on the door.

"Rory and Amy may not trust both of us," the Ganger Doctor commented quietly as he moved to stand beside the Doctor who was holding Evy's hand.

"For what it's worth, I trust you both," Evy told him.

The Doctor smiled at her proudly before glancing at his Ganger, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Inevitably," he nodded.

"I'm glad we're on the same..."

"Wavelength. You see, great minds."

"Exactly."

Evy shook her head as she eyed them, thinking back to the last time there were two of them, "I am _so_ glad Jack isn't here right now," she could only imagine what he'd be thinking.

The Doctor laughed, "So, what's the plan?"

"Save them all, humans and Gangers," the Ganger shrugged.

"Sounds wonderful."

"Is that what you were thinking?"

"It's just so inspiring to hear me say it…"

"I know!"

"OW!" they both shouted, rubbing the back of their heads and turning around to see Evy was now behind them.

"Stop stroking your own ego," she told them, pointing a finger at the two of them warningly.

"Doctor, Evy, come on!" Amy called over.

"So, what now, Doctor?" the Ganger smiled.

"Well, time to get cracking, Doctor," the Doctor grinned.

They both stepped forward, "Hello! Sorry..."

"But we had to establish a few..." the Ganger began.

"Ground rules," the Doctor finished as Amy looked down at where the Doctor was wearing brown shoes and the Ganger black ones.

"Formulate a..."

"Protocol."

"Protocol. Very posh."

"A protocol between us. Otherwise..."

"It gets horribly embarrassing."

"Quite possibly testy," he cast a glance at Evy, who had walked over to Amy, unable to help himself from casting his Ganger a warning look.

"And rather tense," his Ganger nodded, catching the warning.

"And potentially confusing."

Amy shook her head, "I'm glad you've solved the problem of confusing."

"That's sarcasm," the Ganger pointed out.

"She's very good at sarcasm," the Doctor nodded.

"Breathe!" they both shouted at her.

"What?" Amy frowned, nearly jumping back.

"We have to get you off this island," the Ganger determined, casting a concerned glance at Evy.

The Doctor nodded, agreeing on that, "And the Gangers too."

"Sorry, would you like a memo from the last meeting?" Cleaves asked them, "They're trying to kill us!"

"We've said it how many times now?" Evy shook her head, "They're just scared!"

"Look, we're trapped in here," Amy began.

"No we're not," Evy cut in, looking around, "The Flesh Bowl was fed by cables from above…"

"But where are the earthing conduits?" the Ganger realized.

"All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something, yes?" the Doctor stepped to the back wall, pulling back a panel, "With us?" and then spotted a grate, "Yowza! An escape route."

Amy looked at Evy and mouthed 'Yowza?' and the woman could only shake her head and walk over to the Doctor.

"You know, I'm starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me," the Doctor grinned.

Evy wacked him on the back of the head again, "Focus on the grate."

"Do we tend to say 'Yowza?'" the Ganger called.

"That's enough, let it go, ok?" he winced, rubbing his head, "We're under stress."

~8~

The Gangers broke into the room, only to find it empty. Ganger Cleaves looked around, hearing the sonic whirring, and headed over to the back wall, spotting the Doctor and herself on the other side of the grate, and hissed at them as they got away.

~8~

The Time Lords and humans ran down a tunnel, trying to get away from the Gangers following them, "The army will send a recon team," Buzzer remarked.

"We need to contact the mainland," Cleaves reminded him.

"What about Rory and Jen?" Amy asked, "They're both out there."

"Takes a long time to find someone in a maze," the Doctor looked around, "I bet you lot have got a computer map."

"If we can get power running, we can scan for them," Cleaves nodded before starting to cough. Soon enough they were all coughing terribly.

"Doctor, Evy, you both said earlier to breathe," Amy commented.

"Very important, Pond," he nodded, his hand on Evy's back as she too started to have difficulty breathing, "Breathe."

"Yeah, I'm struggling to."

"Acid interacting with the stone."

"It's created an asphyxiant miasma," Evy nodded.

"A what?" Cleaves looked at them.

"Chokey gas!" the Ganger choked out, "Extra heavy. If we can get above it..."

"The evac. tower. This way!" she ran off, leading the way.

~8~

The Doctor and Evy were the first to enter the evac. tower, followed by his Ganger and Amy, and then the humans, who dashed past and headed straight for the control panels around the room.

"Oh!" Amy gagged, "I think I coughed so hard, I pulled a muscle or something."

"You'll be fine," Evy walked to her side, rubbing her back, "It should be easing off by now."

The Doctor moved to check the front of a large panel while his Ganger ducked behind it. A bell chimed the hour.

"It's midnight," Jimmy looked up, "It's Adam's birthday. My son's five. Happy birthday bud."

~8~

Cleaves stood behind the console of a large control system, watching the Doctors work, Amy and Evy standing on the other side with Evy flicking on a few buttons here and there, testing their repairs, "Can you really get the power back?" Cleaves asked the Doctor as she walked around the panel, over to Evy and Amy.

"There's always some power floating around," the Doctor on the right of Amy said, ducking down as the Ganger popped up to the left of Amy.

"Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint," he agreed.

"Can you stop finishing each other's..." Amy began.

"Sentences?" the Doctor popped up, "No probs."

"Yes," the Ganger nodded. They both ducked down.

"Hang on," Amy frowned, "You said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won't she be damaged?"

"Nah," the Doctor said, "She's a tough old thing."

Evy laughed, "Tough, old, sexy she is."

"No," the Ganger pointed at her with a smile, "Tough, _dependable_ , sexy."

"Come on," Amy scoffed, "Ok, how can...how can you _both_ be real?"

"Well, because...we are," the Doctor said, "I'm the Doctor."

"So am I," the Ganger added, "We contain the knowledge of over 900 years of experience. We both wear the same bow-tie, which is cool."

"Because bow-ties are..."

"And always will be."

"But you weren't linked up to the Flesh," Amy tried to make sense of it.

"He just _had_ to go back and examine it again," Evy told her, having seen it in the Doctor's mind, "Probably happened then."

The Doctor nodded, "Thus, a new, genuine Doctor was created."

"Ta da!" the Ganger grinned.

"But one of you was here first," Amy continued.

The Doctor sighed, "After the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now new shoes, a situation which did not confront me learned self here."

"That satisfy you Pond?" the Ganger asked.

"Don't call me Pond, please," she remarked stiffly, making both Doctors and Evy looked at her, "What?"

"Interesting. You definitely feel more affection for him than me."

"No, I...look, you're fine and everything, but _he_ is the Doctor. No offense. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive."

"Being _almost_ the Doctor's like being no Doctor at all."

"Don't overreact."

"You might as well call me...Smith."

"Smith?"

"John Smith."

"Communication a go-go!" the Doctor called. They dashed around to the front where Evy already had it powered up and was bringing everything online.

"Find Rory!" Amy urged them, "Show me the scanny, tracky screen. Come on, Rory, let's be having you."

Cleaves leaned forward and pulled up a screen, "There's no sign of him anywhere."

"Come on, baby, show yourself."

~8~

Cleaves spoke into the radio transmitter, "St. John's calling. Emergency Alpha. St. John's calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain? Come in. We'll never get a signal through this storm. St. John's calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent."

"We're just about reading you, St. John's," a man answered, "How are you doing? We've had all kinds of trouble here."

"Request immediate evacuation. We're under attack. The storm's affected our Gangers. They're running amok."

"Your Gangers?"

"Yes, our Gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out."

The Doctors exchanged a look as Evy frowned.

"Copy that St. John's. Shuttle's dispatched. Hang on."

"You'll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac. tower. And Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following codeword. I'm typing it, in case they're listening in."

"Got it. We'll swing in, get you out, and decommission the Flesh."

~8~

Evy sat at the console, fiddling with a few controls, as the Doctor stood beside her, watching while the crew moved to prepare for evacuation. Evy cast a quick look down at the Doctor's shoes, seeing the brown pair he was wearing and shook her head, smiling, that Time Lord was _clever_.

"We've got to get out of here," Buzzer remarked.

"We're not leaving without them," Amy determined.

"I want 'em found too, but it's about casualties, innit? Can't be helped."

Amy turned to Evy, eyeing her as she worked, trying to ignore the Ganger watching them intently a few feet away, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to place a phone call," she replied.

"Who to?"

"No one just yet. I'm putting it on delay."

"Right, not getting it," Amy sighed, plopping into a chair beside her, making the Doctor step back. She looked up at him, "Why exactly is she making a phone call?"

"Because, Amy, we are, and always will be, the optimists," he replied, "The hopers of far-flung hopes, and the dreamers of improbable dreams," he spun Evy's chair, making her squeal a bit, "The wheels are in motion."

"And...done!" Evy smiled as the Doctor spun Amy's chair as well, making her laugh.

Amy settled back in her chair, looking at the Ganger standing in the back of the room, before looking up at the Doctor, "You know, really, there can be only one."

"Hmmm…I know," the Doctor remarked, before glancing down at Evy as he leaned against the console, "The Link only works with a single pair…" he smiled softly at her, "You know, I loved you even before we Linked, and I like to think I would even if it disappeared," she smiled sadly at him, "But…as it's still active, I just want to say, I'm rather glad that it was me in the end. I don't think either of us deserve you, but I know that, of all the beings in the Universe, no one could love you more."

Amy frowned, eyeing the two of them, "What are you two talking about?" she knew about the Link they shared, but there was something…off…about how the Doctor was speaking to her just then.

"Nothing," the Doctor told her.

Amy just shook her head, "Whatever, we should get back to work. So…carry on you two. Be amazing…" she trailed off, frowning at the back corner. She got up and slowly walked towards it, stopping and staring intently, unnoticing of the Time Lords watching her, all three of them. A moment later she jumped back with a gasp, looking back at them to see only the Doctor was watching her before turning to the wall.

"Amy?" the Doctor called, "What happened?"

Amy rushed back to the chair, plopping down and looking between him and Evy, who had turned to her, "It's her again."

The Ganger turned to the same wall, staring at it.

"Her who?" Evy asked her.

"There's a woman I keep seeing, a woman with an eye patch, and she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me. Doctor? Evy?"

"It's nothing," the Doctor assured her.

"Doesn't seem like nothing."

"It's a time memory. Like a mirage," he patted her shoulder, sending a concerned glance over her at Evy who was rubbing the side of her head a moment, "It's nothing to worry about."

"It's in my head..." the Ganger muttered, before closing his eyes in pain and heading out of the room.

"Hey, hold on!" Jimmy shouted.

"Don't let him go," Cleaves ordered.

"Leave it to me," Amy jumped up and went after him. She really needed to talk to him, without Evy or the Doctor hearing her, she had questions about the Flesh and who better to answer it but something made of it? She stepped cautiously into the hallway of the evac. tower to see the Ganger standing there, facing the back wall, "I'm sorry. What I said about you being almost the Doctor, it's just...really hard, because I've been through so much with the Doctor and Evy. I've even seen him...I've even seen the moment of his..." she swallowed hard, "Can you die? If you _really_ are the same, then you can die. You can be killed, and...I might have seen that happen."

"Why?" he breathed.

"Why? Because you _invited_ us to see it. Your death! Your _suicide_ 'cos Evy was…"

He suddenly spun around and grabbed her shoulders, shoving her against the wall, "Why?!"

"You're hurting me."

"It's all the eyes say! Why? I can feel them as they work each day, _knowing_ the time was coming for them to be thrown away again. 'Not again, please!' And then they are _destroyed_ and they feel _death_ , and all they can say is, 'Why?'"

He let her go and Amy ran off back through the door to the tower.

~8~

"Why?" the Doctor frowned in thought, hearing the words resonate across his mind. He looked at Evy who was hunched forward just a bit, massaging her temples, her face scrunched up in pain. She jerked back in her chair, dropping her hands as Amy ran in.

"Keep him away from me!" Amy shouted.

The Ganger stepped out behind her and walked right over to them by the controls, "Did you sense it?"

"Briefly," Evy nodded, trying to relax her face so the others wouldn't see the pain, she couldn't risk them noticing and making the connection between her and the Ganger, it would ruin the Doctor's experiment.

"Not as strong as you," the Doctor added.

The Ganger looked at Amy, "Amy, I'm sorry..."

"No, you keep away!" she backed up, "We can't trust you."

"It would appear I can connect to the Flesh."

"Well, you _are_ Flesh."

"I'm beginning to understand what it needs."

"What YOU want. You are it."

"It's much more powerful than we thought. The Flesh can grow, correct?"

"Its cells can divide," Cleaves nodded, eyeing the Ganger warily.

He turned and approached her, "Well, now it wants to do that _at will_. It wants revenge. It's in pain, angry. It wants revenge."

"I was right," Amy shook her head, "You're _not_ the Doctor. You can't _ever_ be. You're just a copy."

"Amy, remember how the Dream Lord sent me back to the institute?" Evy asked suddenly. Amy looked over at her, startled, "That was _all_ the Doctor, his subconscious, his darkness, yes, but that _was_ him. We've both done things out of revenge or anger in our lives, don't fool yourself into thinking that we're above that," Amy frowned, stunned, "We're just as susceptible, and believe me, we can be even more cruel because our people, we don't just go out there and hurt you, we wait and we think and we come up with what would hurt you most. This Flesh? However angry it is, is nothing compared to the fury of a Time Lord. Keep that in mind before you start to talk about it yeah?"

Even though the Doctors looked proud at her defense of them, the crew looked at her, startled at her words which only seemed to increase their suspicion of the Ganger. Here was something that wanted revenge and the ability to extract the greatest form of it.

"Doctor, it might be best if you stayed over there for now, hmm?" Cleaves motioned to the Ganger.

"Hold on a minute," the Doctor stood, "Hold your horses. I thought we'd explained this. I'm him, he's me."

Buzzer just stepped forward, ready to force the Ganger down if necessary, "Doctor, we have no issue with _you_ ," Cleaves told him, "But when it comes to your _Ganger_..."

"You're being ridiculous," Evy shook her head at them.

"Buzzer?"

"Sure, boss," Buzzer moved an empty oil drum and set it before the Ganger, "Take a seat mate."

He straightened his bow-tie and sat, "Nice barrel, very comfy. Why not?"

"Is this _really_ what you want?" the Doctor eyed them.

Amy crossed her arms, looking at the Ganger uncomfortably.

Evy sighed, "Oh honestly, humans!" she huffed, rolling the chair over to the oil barrel and sitting beside the Ganger.

Amy blinked, surprised at the woman's actions. Both she and the Doctor, while rushing into danger, were both far more cautious now that they had their child to worry about. To see her, willingly, sitting beside someone as dangerous as a Ganger, despite the child inside her no less, it was disconcerting, it made her question everything she thought about the Gangers…but she just…couldn't help it. That wasn't the Doctor, nothing else need be said.

' _When did you do something out of anger or revenge?_ ' the Doctor's voice whispered in Evy's mind.

She cast a glance beside her, ' _Mars._ '

That was all that had to be said for him to know what she was talking about. She'd been so _angry_ at what he'd done, so _furious_. She truly had displayed the fury of a Time Lord then...only the person she'd hurt had been _him_. She'd been so...so...anger didn't do it justice. She'd been _fuming_ , grabbed what she knew would hurt him, the high-level Perception Filter, and left him alone to deal with feeling as though the Link had nearly been severed. She knew what would hurt and acted. It had certainly hurt him, but more so it got _through_ to him, taught him his lesson.

Evy smiled softly, feeling a small mental kiss in her mind. She wasn't sorry for what she did, but she did feel a bit lighter knowing that he understood and forgave her.

~8~

"This is the shuttle," the radio buzzed, "We're right above you, but we can't get low enough. Gamma static could fry our nav-controls. Sit tight. We'll get to you. Just..."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned Cleaves quickly as Jimmy made his way to the comm., "Hello? Can you hear me?"

"I can't find Rory," Amy sighed from where she was standing by a monitor, "I'm going out there."

"We could use the sonic to track him," the Doctor remarked, "Humans and Gangers give off slightly different signals. The sonic can tell the difference."

"Oh, so the sonic knows Gangers are different, so the other Doctor is different."

Evy rolled her eyes at the girl, "He _is_ the Doctor."

"Not to me," Amy said stiffly, "Can't you tell?"

"I think you're just prejudiced to be honest..."

"Nice try, but I know, ok? We've all been through too much. He's our Doctor," she nodded back to the one at the control panel with the brown shoes, "End of."

"Hey, there's a camera up," Buzzer called from another screen, "We've got a visual."

Amy ran over, beaming when she caught sight of two people walking through a tunnel, "That's Rory and Jennifer."

"They're heading for the thermostatic room," Cleaves frowned.

"Let's go get them," the Doctor flipped his sonic and tossed it to his Ganger, "Hang on."

"We can't let _him_ go. Are you crazy?"

"You actually think he _isn't_?" Evy asked the woman, genuinely shocked.

"Am I crazy, Doctor?" the Doctor smirked as his Ganger.

"Well, you did once plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to halt its orbit and win a bet," the Ganger remarked, "Though that _was_ to win a 'romantic evening' with Evy so…perhaps that doesn't count."

"Oh I think it should," he smiled, "We're crazy about her after all."

His Ganger laughed, "That we are."

"He can't go rescue them," Amy shook her head, " _I'm_ going."

"Do you know, I want him to go," the Doctor stood up, looking Amy in the eyes, "And I'm rather adamant."

"Me too," Evy agreed as she and the Ganger stood.

"Well, then, he'll need company, right boss?" Buzzer offered, "It's fine. I'll handle it."

The Ganger snapped his fingers at him, "Thank you, Buzzer. It'll be alright. I'll find him," he turned and left, Buzzer following after him.

"I can't explain it to you now," the Doctor turned to Amy, "But we _need_ you to trust him. Can you do that for me Amy?"

"And what if you're wrong?" she countered.

"Then he's wrong," Evy shrugged, "And I get to clean up the mess."

The Doctor laughed at that.

~8~

Cleaves's brow furrowed as she looked at the readings from the factory, "These temperature gauges are rising. Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents."

"Why do that?" Dicken shook his head, "They'll kill us."

"There's a million gallons of boiling acid under our feet..."

"And now it's heating up the whole island," the Doctor realized, "How long till it blows?"

There was an explosion in the distance that rocked the monastery.

"Gangers or no Gangers, we need to get the hell out of here," Dicken stated.

"Shuttle!" Cleaves ran to the radio, "We need evac.. Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you..." she winced and put a hand to her forehead.

"Cleaves?" Evy stood and moved to help the woman, "You need to rest, here..." she helped her down into a chair.

"I'm fine. I've had these migraines for a while, I'm waiting for results, so let it go."

"It's a very deep parietal clot," the Doctor told her, recalling his scan.

"Inoperable?"

"On Earth," Evy sighed sadly.

"Well, seeing as Earth is all that's on offer...hmm. I'm no healthy spring chicken, and you're no weathermen. Right?"

There was another quake.

"Something just cracked," Amy looked up, alarmed, "I heard it."

The Doctor nodded, casting a concerned look at Evy, "Yeah, we can't stay here, let's go."

"Let's shift!" Jimmy agreed.

Cleaves moved to the radio once more, "Cleaves to Shuttle. We need to move, and we can't be collected from the evac. tower."

"Give us the codeword," the radio called.

"The codeword is..."

Another quake rocked the building, sending the console up in sparks. Cleaves jumped back to avoid them before running back, trying to get through.

"Cleaves?" the Doctor called, moving back to her, "Cleaves, it's dead, it's dead," he grabbed her arm and pulled her away, "We need to get out of here."

"We have to get the vents working again," Evy called as they ran out of the room, "Come on!"

~8~

The Ganger Doctor scanned the sonic around the monastery with Buzzer following, frowning at the device, "I'm getting something..."

"Is it human?" Buzzer asked.

"Yeah, it's human, but it's fading. It's fading. This is bad. Fading is very...bad…" he turned around a corner and stopped short, seeing Jennifer lying on the ground, "Agh! The signal's gone," he touched her forehead, "She's...dead. She was hanging onto the edge of life and she just...just slipped away. Oh, Jennifer, I'm so sorry. She's been out here for hours."

"But if the real Jen's been lying out here..."

"Rory's in trouble."

And suddenly Buzzer whacked him on the back of the head with his torch, knocking him out, "Sorry, pal, it's boss's orders. Us and them, innit?"

~8~

Evy winced, rubbing the back of her head for a second, stumbling, as they ran through the tunnel, following the Doctor and Cleaves with Amy and the rest of the crew behind her. They stopped in another narrow hall to see eyes watching their every move in the wall before them, "Ah," the Doctor murmured, "The eyes have it."

"Why are they here?" Amy frowned.

"To accuse us," Evy replied.

"Ignore them," Cleaves ordered, continuing on, "It's not far," they kept going to the end of the hall, entering the thermostatic chamber, the Doctor, Cleaves, and Evy heading for the controls.

"These readings..." Evy shook her head, "It's too late. It's become a chemical chain reaction."

The Doctor sighed, "This place is going to blow sky high."

"Exactly how long have we got?" Cleaves turned to them.

"An hour? Five seconds? Er, somewhere in between," another explosion happened, a klaxon sounding as the machinery hissed. He turned, grabbing Evy's hand and pulling her out, "Out!"

Amy, being in the back, was the first out of the room, leading them down the tunnel, when they came face-to-face with Rory, "Alright?" he asked them.

"Oh, Rory!" Amy gasped, throwing herself into his arms, "Oh, Rory."

"There's a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt."

"From the crypt?" Cleaves frowned, "It's not on the schematics."

"It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS. Follow me," he turned and headed off with the others, Evy and the Doctor hesitating before joining him.

~8~

The Ganger Doctor woke up groggily on the floor to see the Gangers in their acid suits above him, "Got anything for a sore head?"

" _This_ is how they'll always treat us," Ganger Cleaves remarked, "Do you see now? After all, you're one of us...Doctor."

He put his sonic in his pocket, "Call me Smith. John Smith."

~8~

Cleaves led the way into the Acid Room when Jimmy shook his head, "We can't leave without Buzzer."

Cleaves agreed, "I'll go back for him."

"Doctor, Evy, look..." Rory began, "I'd better tell you, I haven't been quite straight with you..."

Suddenly he was pulled back and the door slammed shut, locking. The Doctor ran to the small window, seeing Ganger Jen standing there, "Rory!" he shouted as he and Cleaves tried to open the door, but it was deadlocked, the sonic wouldn't help.

Rory turned to Ganger Jen, confused, "C'mon, Jennifer, we don't need to lock them up. We should just show them what we've found."

"I don't think so," she shook her head.

"Rory Pond!" the Doctor shouted, "Roranicus Pondicus!"

"Rory!" Amy banged on the door, "What the hell are you playing at?"

"They've been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot, _alive_!" Rory told them, "I think the world should see that."

"Rory, there is no time," the Doctor told him, "This factory's about to explode!"

Rory looked alarmed and turned to Ganger Jen, "Are you sure about this? 'Cos I'm not. Let them out."

"The little girl got strong," Ganger Jen remarked.

"What?"

"The little girl lost on the moors in her red wellies? Looking for a way home? Well, she got strong, Rory. I told you, remember?"

"But that wasn't...it was the other Jennifer that told me about being a little girl."

"Oh? What other Jennifer?" her eyes began to glow.

"Well, the...the...wait, you tricked me? Let me go, I'll open the door," he turned to try and grab the door but she pulled him away, "Let me..." he struggled to turn to Amy, "I'm sorry!"

Amy pounded on the door as Rory was dragged off, leaving only Ganger Cleaves behind, "We have to be free."

"I'm sorry too, Miranda," Cleaves remarked, "Of all the humans in the world, you had to pick the one with the clot. But hey, them's the breaks. Welcome to the human race," her Ganger eyed her a moment before turning to walk away.

"This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid," the Doctor muttered as he scanned the acid vat, refusing to let Evy anywhere near it, actually going so far as to steal her sonic to keep her back, "Just as a point of interest."

"And we can't stop it?"

"Just as a point of interest, no."

~8~

Rory stood, furious, before Ganger Jen and the others in the dining hall, "You created another Ganger just to trick me. You tricked me. When I found you, you were both Flesh and you tricked me into trusting you! Jen's dead, isn't she?"

The Ganger Doctor looked up from where he was sitting at the table, "She's gone, Rory. Gone."

"Shuttle, we're dropping down on our approach," the radio blared, "Stand by for evac.."

"The humans will be melted, as they deserve," Ganger Jen nodded, "And then the factory will be destroyed. Once we get to the mainland, the real battle begins. The humans won't stand a chance. You're one of us, Doctor. Join the revolution."

"I've got to go and get them out," Rory tried to stride past them but the Ganger Doctor stood and shoved him back, standing with the Gangers.

~8~

Dicken lowered the cap onto the vat of acid as Jimmy looked at a few readings, "It'll never hold her."

"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears," the Doctor turned to him, "In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where EVERYONE is all ears."

The lid slammed shut.

~8~

"Doctor, we can't just let them _die_ ," Rory shook his head at him, " _Evy's_ in there!"

The Doctor looked at his watch, "Ring, ring!"

"Doctor!"

"Ring, ring!" he pushed Rory back once more

~8~

Cleaves watched the acid vat warily, "The acid's eating through..."

The building shook.

~8~

Rory tried to dart past them as the room quaked but the Ganger Doctor pointed at him warningly, "Stay!"

Rory stopped and put his hands up, "Ok."

A phone rang and the Ganger Doctor smiled, "Ah, that'll be the phone. Somebody get the phone. Jimmy, get the phone. No? Fine, I'll get the phone. Stay put," he walked over and picked up the phone, sonicing it so a hologram of a young boy appeared before them.

"Thank you for booking your holo-call with Morpeth Jet..." the operator began.

"Ha!" the Ganger Doctor smiled at the child, "Hello, Adam, I'm the Doctor. Well, Other Doctor," Ganger Jimmy stood slowly, "Or Smith. It's complicated and boring. Anyway, who cares, it's your birthday!"

"Yay!" Adam cheered.

"Yay! Now, have you been getting up very early and jumping on the bed?"

"Yes, _really_ high."

"I expect chocolate for breakfast. If you don't feel sick by mid-morning, you're not doing it right. Now, I think you want to speak to dad," he turned to look at Ganger Jimmy.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Daddy?"

He walked over to him, "You'll do, Jimmy. What does the other Jimmy matter now? You're both the same dad, aren't you? Come on, Adam's waiting."

"Daddy?" another quake shook the room, "Daddy, what's that rumbly noise? What's going on, daddy? Daddy?"

Ganger Jimmy turned and bolted out of the room.

"You've tricked him into an act of weakness, Doctor," Ganger Jen glared.

"No, actually, Evy's helped him into an act of humanity, oh she's brilliant at backup plans, haven't I mentioned that?" he remarked, "Anyone else like the sound of that though? Act of humanity."

"Dicken, drain the acid well in crypt one," Ganger Cleaves ordered and Ganger Dicken left.

"Don't you dare!" Ganger Jen called after him.

"I've had it with this! What's the point in this ridiculous war? Look at you, Jen. You were a sweet kid. Look at you now. Stuff of nightmares. I don't want my world populated by monsters."

"You can't stop the factory from melting down, 'boss.' I'll take revenge on humanity with or without you."

"It doesn't have to be about revenge," the Ganger Doctor told her, "It can be so much better than that."

Ganger Jennifer just glared at him before pushing her way out of the room.

~8~

Jimmy struggled to keep the lid on the vat, Dicken trying to help from behind, but it was all too much. Just as the doors to the room opened, acid splashed out and hit Jimmy in the chest. He fell backwards with a cry as his Ganger dashed in, "Let me through!" his Ganger called, making his way to his side.

"You're too late," Evy said softly, scanning him with the sonic she'd snatched back from the Doctor, "It's reached his heart..."

"Hang in there, mate."

Jimmy looked up at him, "I'm quite handsome from this angle."

"I'm...sorry. I'm the fake. Adam deserves his _real_ dad."

"Shut up."

"What do you want me to do? Anything, just say."

"The way things are, mate...it's up to you now," he pulled at a cord around his neck and pressed into his Ganger's hand, "Be a dad. You remember how," and then his head drifted to the side and he died, leaving his Ganger to look at his wedding band.

"Jimmy Wicks...you're a dad," the Doctor remarked softly.

~8~

Rory, the Ganger Doctor, and Ganger Cleaves stood in the dining hall, waiting for the others as Adam shuffled on his feet, trying to look past them, "Daddy? Where's my daddy?"

Just then Ganger Jimmy entered with the others. Rory went straight to Amy, hugging her tight before kissing her, as the Ganger Doctor walked over to where Evy and the Doctor were staying, Ganger Cleaves heading over to herself as well.

"Daddy, it's me!" Adam grinned, seeing his father.

Ganger Jimmy laughed nervously, "Hey, sunshine! What are you up to?"

"Opening all my presents."

"Ha ha, good lad. You have fun today. And remember, your dad...he loves you very, _very_ much."

"When are you coming home?"

"Today," Evy called, smiling as she walked over to pat the man's shoulder, knowing he was still in shock over seeing himself die, "Your dad'll be home today Adam."

"Yay!"

Jimmy laughed, seeing his son do a little excited jig.

"Now, we need to move," the Doctor called from behind them.

~8~

The Doctor led the way down a tunnel of the monastery, stopping short when they came face-to-face with a misshapen, elongated Ganger Jen, "Run!" he shouted, turning around and ushering them back, "Run. Run!" they turned and ran, Ganger Jen chasing them on all fours until they made it around a corner, down another hall, and into a room.

"Ooh, roof's going to give," the Ganger Doctor looked up, rushing into the back of the room as the ceiling groaned.

Dicken and his Ganger shut the metal door behind the group, "We have to stop her," his Ganger shouted, "This door doesn't lock."

"No, but the far one does!" Dicken turned and ran down the hallway to the far door, pulling on it but it was jammed. Ganger Jen ran closer as he pulled the handle off. He finally got the door unjammed but it wouldn't lock, so he shut it behind him, staying on the other side to hold it closed.

"No!" Ganger Dicken shouted as he heard himself scream before slamming the door shut, Ganger Cleaves and the Doctor moving to help him.

"There she is!" Evy shouted as the TARDIS fell through the roof.

"Oh, she does like to make an entrance!" the Doctor remarked.

The Ganger Doctor opened the doors to the box, "Move!"

The Doctor nodded at Ganger Dicken, "Go, go, go, go!" and the man ran off into the TARDIS.

"Get onboard!" Ganger Cleaves turned to herself, "Go!"

"I'm not leaving," she shook her head as the door was pounded on.

" _Go_."

Cleaves nodded and ran back to the TARDIS as well.

"Now's our chance," Amy ran over to the Doctor.

He shook his head, "I have to stay. Hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialize."

"Oh, don't be crazy. Ok, what happens to you? What happens to _Evy_ if something happens to you?"

"Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her."

"Both of you can survive this, ok?"

"Or perhaps you think _I_ should stay instead...Mr. Smith?" the Ganger Doctor stepped up behind her, Evy next to him.

"No, of course not," Amy turned to him, "But look, this man, I've flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and yeah, I misjudged you, but you're not _him_. I'm sorry."

"Amy, we swapped shoes."

" _He_ is the Doctor," Evy nodded.

"And I'm the Flesh," the Doctor by the door agreed.

"He can't be," Amy shook her head and looked at the Ganger Doctor, " _You're_ the real him."

"He's not Amy," Evy stepped forward and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "He hasn't been since we arrived in the evac. tower."

"What?"

" _I'm_ the original Doctor, Amy," the Doctor told her, "We had to know if they were truly the same. It was important, _vital_ , we learn about the Flesh. And we could only do that through your eyes."

Amy looked at the Ganger Doctor at the door and moved to hug him tightly, "I never thought it possible..."

"What?" he asked, hugging her back.

"You're twice the man I thought you were."

"Push, Amy," he whispered to her, "But _only_ when she tells you to."

Ganger Jen banged on the door and the Ganger jumped back to help Ganger Cleaves.

"Amy, come on!" Rory shouted as Amy ran past the Doctor and Evy, towards the TARDIS.

"Well, my death arrives, I suppose," the Ganger smiled at them.

"But this one, we're not invited to," the Doctor remarked, taking Evy's hand. She squeezed his hand in return, knowing what Amy had said to him, what she had implied about her, when she spoke to him outside the evac. tower, thinking he was the Ganger.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing."

"It's possible that your molecular memory might survive," Evy commented as the Doctor nodded and tossed him the sonic.

"If I turn up to nick all your biscuits, you'll know you were right."

"She always is," the Doctor remarked.

He laughed and looked at Evy, "But…in the very slim, nearly impossibly small, chance that you're wrong…you should know..." he cast a glance at himself, "He doesn't pout for real. Half the time he fakes it so you'll give him a kiss."

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted.

Evy laughed, "Oh, I know."

The Doctor looked at her, stunned, "Really? You never said…"

"It gives me an excuse to kiss you," she told him simply.

"Doctor!" Amy called from the doorway, seeing the Ganger still at the door, "No, please..." Rory tugged her back.

"You too, Cleaves, off you pop," the Ganger turned to her.

"I'm staying."

"This is not the time for grand gestures."

"Says the king of grand gestures! This is _my_ factory! I'm not going anywhere."

"Foreman Miranda Cleaves, marvelous!" he kissed her head, "Beware of imitations."

"Clear off out of here, the lot of you!"

The Doctor looked at Evy a moment and she asked him something silently. He smiled softly at her and nodded. She grinned and ran to the Ganger Doctor, hugging him a moment before pulling away, pressing her necklace into his hands, "I know it's a very slim, nearly impossibly small, chance, but...find a love of your own. Yeah?"

He smiled at her, kissing the necklace and nodding as he slipped it into his pocket.

The Doctor reached out and took her hand, the two of them running into the TARDIS, pushing Amy and Rory in as well.

And a few moments later, the TARDIS disappeared.

~8~

The Doctor leaned against the console, Evy beside him, feeling rather odd now that she was without her necklace. She couldn't help but chuckle silently to herself when she thought on how Jack 'felt naked' without his Vortex Manipulator...she felt the same now.

' _I'll get you another one,_ ' the Doctor murmured to her silently. It had been him, after all, who said he couldn't imagine her without one.

' _Thanks,_ ' she rested her forehead on his arm a moment before taking a breath and turning to Gangers Jimmy and Dicken, "You're real now. Proper people. Thanks to th energy from the TARDIS. It stabilized you permanently."

"And what happens to me?" Cleaves asked, gesturing to her head, "I still have this."

"Ah, that's not a problem," the Doctor snapped his fingers, "I have something for that. It's small and red and tastes like burnt onions, ha!" he pulled out a vial from under the console, "But it'll get rid of your blood clot," he tossed it to Cleaves and grabbed a red balloon, handing it to Jimmy, "Happy endings."

~8~

The Doctor and Evy stood on a beach, his arm around her waist, his hand resting on her stomach, watching Jimmy sneak up behind his son. He let one of the red balloons go, drifting past his son, "Hey!" he called, "Hello, bud."

Adam turned and ran to him, "Daddy, you're back!"

Jimmy lifted him up and twirled him around, "Hello, my boy! How are you doing?"

Evy smiled and rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder a moment, "That'll be you one day," she told him quietly, "Tossing your child about."

He beamed at the thought, "Our child," he corrected, dropping a kiss on her head before they headed back to the TARDIS.

~8~

The TARDIS sat in the back of the lobby of Morpeth-Jetsan HQ as the Doctor and Evy walked with Cleaves and Ganger Dicken, Amy and Rory behind them.

"You really want us to do this?" Cleaves glanced at a door that would lead to the press conference the company was holding.

"Your company's telling the world that the situation is over," the Doctor told them, "You need to get in there and tell them that the situation's only just begun."

Evy nodded, "They need to see what they're doing to the Flesh, how wrong it is to treat it like you were," she gave Cleaves a meaningful look to which the woman nodded.

"Dicken, remember, people are good. In their bones, truly _good_. Don't hate them, will you?"

"How can I hate them?" Dicken laughed, "I'm one of them now."

"Yeah, and just remember, people died."

"Don't let their deaths be in vain," Evy sighed, "Make _every word_ count."

Cleaves took a breath and looked at Dicken, "Ready?" they headed towards the door, "Side-by-side."

"You got it boss," Dicken nodded.

Cleaves pulled open the door and flashes of photographers went off.

"Have the army dealt with the imposters?" a reporter called as they stepped in, shutting the door behind them.

Amy frowned and walked over to the Doctor and Evy, "You ok?"

"Remember how we told you to breathe, Amy," Evy looked at her, "Do it."

"Why?" she shook her head.

"Just _breathe_."

Amy suddenly doubled over in pain with a gasp, "Oh! Whoa. Oh!"

Rory ran to her side, "What's wrong with her?"

"Get her into the TARDIS," the Doctor said, striding back to the TARDIS, pulling Evy along as Rory helped Amy after them. The Time Lords walked up to the console platform as Rory and Amy entered.

"Doctor!" Rory shouted, "Evy! What is happening to her?"

"Contractions Rory," Evy told him softly, her hand absently falling to her bump at the thought.

"Contractions?"

"Typically happens when women go into labor."

"Did she say..." Amy began, "No, of course she didn't. Rory, I don't like this. Ow!" she gripped her stomach and bent over.

Rory shook his head, "You'll have to start explaining this to me…"

"What, the birds and the bees?" the Doctor asked, "She's having a _baby_."

"It's why we needed to see the early stages of the Flesh," Evy told them. The last thing they wanted to do was somehow harm Amy or the possible baby within her.

"That's why I scanned it. That's why we were there in the first place. We were going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happened and there was stuff and shenanigans...beautiful word, shenanigans."

"It hurts!" Amy whimpered.

"But you're ok?" Rory looked at her.

"Breathe Amy," Evy called to her, "You need to breathe..."

"We needed enough information to block the signal to the Flesh," the Doctor continued.

"A more _humane_ way," Evy added, "Because we've seen what happens when that signal is cancelled out incorrectly," her mind flashed back to Martha's clone and how she had suffered, died…

"What signal?" Amy looked at them.

"The signal to you," the Doctor's jaw tensed.

"Doctor?"

"Rory...you need to get back," Evy told him gently, it could be traumatizing to be too close.

"Why?" he demanded, "No! And why?"

"Given what we've learned, we'll be as humane as we can, but we need to do this and you need to stand away!" the Doctor shouted.

Rory looked between Amy and then the Doctor and Evy before slowly backing away.

"No," Amy reached for him, "No!" she turned to the Doctor and Evy, tears in her eyes, "Doctor, I am _frightened_. I'm properly, _properly_ scared Evy."

"It'll be alright Amy," Evy walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Just hold on a little longer yeah? We're coming for you, I _swear_ we are."

"Whatever happens," the Doctor nodded, "However hard, however far, we _will_ find you."

"I'm right here!" Amy grabbed Evy's wrist.

Evy shook her head sadly and stepped back, "You're not though."

"You haven't been here for a long, _long_ time," the Doctor agreed as Evy stepped beside him.

They held out their sonics at her.

"Oh, no!" Amy gasped.

And activated them, turning Amy into melted Flesh.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm...so the Ganger has the necklace now? What does that mean for the Doctor at the Lake? It could be him...but then again...it might not. The Doctor gave Evy a Seal of Rassilon necklace once before, who's to say he can't again?
> 
> And I just want to apologize if Evy has started to seem too perfect, like a Mary Sue, as has been pointed out to me on other sites. I didn't intend for her to come across that way. I know sometimes Mary Sues can come about by making a character too unique or go beyond the norm of the species so I tried to keep everything within a believable scope for Gallifrey and the DW universe. She's as brilliant as the Doctor, being a Time Lady herself, can read minds because their people are telepathic to an extent but she's just more practiced in the art, she sees things differently because at the Untempered Schism she's one of the inspired, and her powers stem from human medicine adversely affecting her like human aspirin can kill Time Lords. I tried to make her different than the Doctor in personality as a way to balance out their relationship, he's childish so she's mature, she would be a bit more capable, has to keep him under control doesn't she? lol :) Series 5 and 6 were meant to really show her as a Time Lady, equal to the Doctor, because at first she was 'human' then keeping herself distant, but now she can really shine and prove herself.
> 
> There will be things coming up in later chapters that will show Evy's weaknesses, her making mistakes, as she'll also start to have to take a backseat because of her pregnancy :)
> 
> Next chapter...Evy's not just good at backup plans. Evy's issued the Doctor a challenge. Was Amy really the target of Kovarian's plot, or was she their own version of a backup plan?


	11. A Good Man Goes to War

Evy stood in the TARDIS, watching the monitor closely as the screen divided into two, one screen showing the Doctor sneaking about, planting the bombs she had created, while the other featured Rory, sealing off the doors on his way to the control room of the CyberShip. She'd hacked into the ships security feed and was speaking to both men to warn them of any dangers lurking around the corner.

She watched as Rory walked past a door lock, his cape billowing, using her sonic to lock the door, making it slide shut before another Cyberman could enter. She glanced at the Doctor's screen to see him heading back towards the TARDIS, just as the alarms went off.

"Intruder," she heard a Cyberman call over the comms. which she'd also hacked into, "Level Nine. Seal Level Nine."

The TARDIS rocked along with the ship, making her grumble in Evy's mind, as small explosions went off behind the Doctor, set to timers to distract the Cybers till Rory could get to them.

"Intruder, Level Eleven. Seal Levels Twelve, Thirteen, and Fourteen. Intruder, Level Fifteen. Prepare to engage."

She watched as Rory stepped through the doors to the control room, wearing his centurion outfit, which made the TARDIS giggle a bit, to stand before the CyberLeader and the other Cybermen. She glanced up as the door to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor rushed in, joining her at the console, as they began to set the controls, piloting the TARDIS, invisibly and silently into that very control room, just behind the Cybermen.

"I have a message and a question," Rory said on the monitor, "A message from the Doctor and Evy, a question from me. Where. Is. My. Wife?" the Cybers didn't answer, "Oh, don't give me those blank looks. The 12th CyberLegion monitors this entire quadrant," he walked forward, into the room, to stand before a large window, the fleet floating just outside, "You hear everything. So you tell me what I need to know, you tell me now, and I'll be on my way."

"You ready for this?" the Doctor looked over at her as he reached for a lever.

She took a breath and moved beside him, taking the lever as well, "Ready as I can be."

"What is the Doctor's message?" a Cyber asked.

They pulled the lever and the ships outside exploded in a burst of fire and metal.

"Would you like me to repeat the question?" Rory asked.

Evy couldn't help but smile, "I told you he'd be brilliant."

' _And very pretty!_ ' the TARDIS agreed in their minds.

~8~

A fat man and a thinner man in army garb walked across the hanger of the base Amy Pond was being held in, just as a ship came in for a landing.

"A whole CyberLegion though!" the fat one extolled, "They just blew them all up. To make a point!"

"We're being paid to _fight_ them," the thin man reminded him, "Not _praise_ them. Praising costs way more!"

They stepped into the lift, passing two Headless Monks, "Level Minus 23. Transept," the doors slid shut.

~8~

"Digger says they once chased the Atraxi off a planet," the fat one continued as they stepped off the lift onto Level 23, "And then he called them back for a scolding!"

"Fight them. Not praise them."

They passed by a young female soldier, sitting on a crate, sewing, with a small smile on her face.

"Reminder," an announcement came over the speakers, "This base is on Yellow Alert. This base is on Yellow Alert."

~8~

The fat man and thin man stood off to the side of a corridor, checking readings off a machine later in the day as two Headless Monks walked past, hands clasped before them.

"Reminder: do not interact with Headless Monks without designed permission. Do not interact with Headless Monks without designed permission."

The thin man leaned a bit out to watch them go, "You're not supposed to stare at them," this time it was the fat one who did the reminding, "And if they think you're trying to see under their hoods, they'll kill you on the spot."

"But why are they called the Headless Monks? They can't really be headless..."

"They believe the domain of faith is the heart and the domain of doubt is the head," the young woman who'd been sewing stated as she turned from moving a few items, "They follow their hearts...that's all."

"You're Lorna Bucket, aren't you?" the thin one looked at her.

"Yeah. Hello!"

"I'm the Thin One, this is my husband, he's the Fat One."

"Don't you have names?"

"We're the thin, fat, gay, married, Anglican marines," the Fat One laughed, "Why would we need names as well?" and then he caught sight of two Monks standing behind Lorna, "Oh! Looks like I'm off! Time for my conversion tutorial. See you in a bit," he headed off with the Monks, "Do you lot have Lent? 'Cos I'm not good at giving things up..."

Lorna shook her head at him while the Thin One eyed her, "Lorna Bucket. You've had an encounter, haven't you? You've _met_ them."

"I was just a kid," she smiled, getting back to work.

"But what're they like? The Doctor and Evy?"

"He said 'run.'"

"Just 'run?'"

"He said it a lot…and then Evy smacked him in the back of the head."

He laughed at that, "And this was in the Gamma Forests, yeah? Because you're a Gamma girl, aren't you? What are you doing here? The forests are heaven-neutral."

"Yeah, and 30 seconds of the Doctor and Evy is the only thing that ever happened there."

He nodded, hearing a hiss behind him and slid the panel of the wall closed, "So, what do you think? If the Doctor and Evy are really coming here, where are they?"

"He's the Doctor, she's Evy. They could be anywhere in time and space," she loosened a hose, letting out some steam.

~8~

"Hello Vastra," Evy greeted as the Silurian woman stepped through the door of the TARDIS with a young, dark haired woman carrying bags behind her.

"Evy!" Vastra grinned widely, hugging her tightly before kissing her fingers and pressing them to Evy's stomach.

"You must be Jenny," Evy turned to the young maid, hugging her as well.

"Pleased to meet you ma'am," Jenny nodded at her.

"Are we going to be called 'sir' and 'ma'am' again," the Doctor mock whined from the console.

"Be thankful they aren't saluting you," Evy called to him as she headed back, "Strax certainly will."

He huffed but smiled as Vastra moved to hug him as well, "Now," the Silurian pulled away, eyeing them after she cast a curious look at the Centurion behind them, "What has happened my friends?"

"We need your help," the Doctor told her seriously…

~8~

"Doctor," Strax saluted, "Evy."

"Told you so," Evy mumbled lightly to the Doctor.

"Oh don't salute!" the Doctor truly did whine this time.

"Might I inquire," Strax continued, "What is the nature of this HONORABLE mission?"

Evy rolled her eyes at him, "Yes, yes, your honor will be restored after its completion."

The Doctor frowned, "Don't you like being a nurse?"

"He's a nurse?" Rory eyed the thing he'd been warned _not_ to call a walking baked potato.

"I am a _soldier_ sir!" Strax glared at him.

"So Strax, how do you feel about bringing down an army?" the Doctor asked.

"The odds?"

"We're horrible out-numbered, out-resourced, and out-weaponed."

Evy smacked him on the head and he winced.

Strax grinned, "I look forward to it."

~8~

River swayed back and forth as she walked up to the ringing phone on the wall of Stormcage amidst the alarms blaring, wearing a late Victorian gown with a small hat and muff, "Oh, turn it off," she picked it up, "I'm breaking in, not out. This is River Song, back in her cell...oh, and I'll take breakfast at the usual time. Thank you!" she hung up and glided along the floor, stopping when she caught sight of someone dressed as a Roman, "Oh, are you boys dressing up as Romans now? I thought nobody read my memos."

Rory stepped forward, into the light, "Dr. Song? It's Rory. Sorry, have we met yet? Time streams, I'm not quite sure where we are..."

"Yes…" she blinked, tears in her eyes, "Yes, we've met," she swallowed hard, smiling sadly at him, "Hello, Rory."

"What's wrong?"

She laughed nervously, "It's my birthday. The Doctor took me ice skating on the River Thames in 1814, the last of the great frost fairs, and Evy got Stevie Wonder to sing for me under London Bridge."

"Stevie Wonder sang in 1814?"

"Yes, he did. But you must never tell him."

"I've come from the Doctor and Evy too."

"Yes, but at a different point in time."

"Unless there're two of them…" he muttered, thinking on the Pandorica incident and the Doctor's Ganger, "…again…"

"Now, that's a whole different birthday," she laughed, heading into her cell as she pulled out her diary from her muff.

"They need you!"

She looked up, stunned, shutting the book, "Demons Run."

"How...how did you know?"

"I'm from their future. I always know. Why on Earth are you wearing that?"

"The Doctor's idea."

"Of course. His rules of engagement. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

"Look ridiculous."

"Have you considered heels?"

"Funny," he muttered, "Evy asked me the same thing."

She laughed, "Great minds…"

"They've taken Amy," he cut in seriously, "And our baby," River stopped, tensing, "The Doctor and Evy are getting some people together, we're going after her, but they need you too."

"I can't," she turned to face him, "Not yet, anyway."

"I'm sorry?"

"This is the Battle of Demons Run. The Doctor's darkest hour. He'll rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further," she swallowed hard, "And this time…he takes Evy with him. And...I can't be with them till the very end."

"Why not?"

"Because this is it," she entered her cell, "This is the day they find out who I am."

~8~

Dorium Maldovar was hurrying out of the Maldovarium late at night, a suitcase in his hand. He paused only for a moment to look around, "Goodbye," and then turned to open the case, rearranging the contents, when someone spoke behind him.

"You appear to be closing down, Dorium."

He spun around to see the woman with the eye patch right behind him, guards all around her.

~8~

"What have you heard?" she asked as she sat across from him at a table.

"That you pricked the side of two mighty beasts, Madam Kovarian, and entirely failed to run," Dorium remarked as he glanced at the guns pointed at his head, "I admire your courage. I should like to admire it from afar," he pushed them away.

"We've been waiting a month. They've done nothing."

"Do you really think so?" he asked, disinterested, as he counted his money, "There are people all over this galaxy that owe that man and woman a debt. By now, a few of them will have found a blue box waiting for them on their doorstep. Poor devils."

"You think they're raising an army?" the dark skinned man beside Kovarian asked.

"You think they aren't? If those two are finally collecting on their debts, God help you, and God help their debtors."

"Why?"

"Colonel Manton, all those stories you've heard about them, about the Doctor and his Link. They're not stories, they're true," he chuckled, "Really, you're not telling me you don't know what's coming?"

"We're wasting our time here!"

Kovarian stood, "Agreed."

"The asteroid where you've made your base," Dorium called, "Do you know why they call it Demons Run?"

"How do you know the location of our base?" Manton glared.

He sighed, "You're with the Headless Monks...they're old customers of mine."

"It's just some old saying," Kovarian shook her head.

"A very old saying. The oldest. 'Demons run, when a good man goes to war.'"

Kovarian and Manton simply turned on their heels and left, Dorium watching them go. He waited till the door shut behind them before getting up and rushing out of the back room, desperate to get away, only to hear the wheezing of the TARDIS as it appeared before him.

"No. No, no, please! Not me! You don't need me!" the door opened and two silhouettes appeared on the wall, "Why would you need me? I'm old! I'm fat! I'm blue! You _can't_ need me!"

~8~

Manton stood on a platform in the middle of the hanger, three Headless Monks behind him, the soldiers all standing at ease before him, listening intently, as Kovarian stood to the side, smirking, "He is not the devil," he called to his troops, "She is not a god. They are not goblins or phantoms or tricksters. The Doctor and his Link are a living, breathing man and woman, and, as I look around this room, I know one thing...we're sure as hell going to fix that."

The soldiers cheered.

~8~

Amy watched Manton through the window of the white nursery she'd been confined to ever since they took her daughter away from her. Lorna slowly entered the room behind her, cautious of the grieving, angry mother, "Sorry," she called, drawing Amy's attention, "I shouldn't be here, I'm meant to be at the thing. I brought you something. Your child's name, in the language of my people…" she held out a small green cloth with beautiful stitching on the center of it, "It's a prayer leaf and we believe, if you keep this with you, your child will always come home to you."

"Can I borrow your gun?" Amy asked her.

"Why?"

"'Cos I've got a feeling you're going to keep talking," she turned and faced the window, "Talking like they're famous. The Doctor and Evy aren't famous..."

"They meet a lot of people. Some of them...remember," she smiled, "Evy's a fairytale and the Doctor's sort of like a...I dunno. A dark legend."

"Dark?" Amy scoffed, "Have you _met_ him?"

"Yeah," Amy looked at her, "But I was just a little girl."

"So was I."

"You've been with them a long time then?"

"No. They came back for me."

"You must be very special."

"Hey. You can wait a long time for the Doctor and Evy. But they're worth it. Ok?" she walked over to Lorna, "The thing is, they're coming. No question about it. Just you make sure you're on the right side when they get here. Not for my sake...for yours. 'Cos Evy can only keep him so calm and I doubt she's very pleased with this either," she held out her hand and Lorna gave her the leaf, "Thank you," she held it to her as Lorna left.

~8~

"On this day, in this place, the Doctor and and his Link will fall," Manton continued as the soldiers cheered once more, "The man who talks, the woman who reasons, the man who lies, the woman who deceives, will meet the perfect answer. Some of you have wondered why have we have allied ourselves with the Headless Monks," Lorna quietly snuck into her position, "Perhaps you should have wondered why we call them headless. It's time you knew what these guys have sacrificed for faith. As you all know, it is a Level One Heresy, punishable by death, to lower the hood of a Headless Monk. But, by the divine grant of the Papal Mainframe herself, on this one and only occasion, I can show you the truth. Because these guys never can be..." he lowered the hood of the first Monk to reveal a knotted stump instead of a head and neck, "Persuaded! They NEVER can be..." he lowered the second hood, "Afraid," and approached the third, "And they can never, _ever_ be..."

The third Monk threw back his hood to reveal the Doctor, "Surprised!" the soldiers were stunned as Amy smiled from her window, pressing herself against it, "Hello everyone! Guess who!" he walked to the front of the stage, "Please point a gun at me if it helps you relax," all the soldiers, save Lorna, did just that as the Monks drew energized swords, "You're only human."

Manton stepped forward and aimed his gun at the Doctor, "Doctor, you will come with me, right now!"

The Doctor turned and smiled at him, "Evy's issued me a challenge. Three minutes, forty seconds," he turned and shouted, "Amelia Pond! Get your coat!" before pulling his hood back down over him just as the lights went out.

When they came back on, he was gone.

"We are not phantoms," the Doctor agreed, his voice coming over the speaker.

"Doctor?" Manton frowned.

"We are not tricksters."

"Doctor?"

"We're monks."

"Doctor, show yourself!"

"It's him!" a solider turned and aimed his gun at one of the Monks, "He's here!" the other soldiers began to do the same as the Monks charged their swords, "It's him!" the soldier shot at one of the Monks, creating tension.

"Weapons down! Do not fire!" one of the Monks raised his hand in retaliation and fired an energy bolt from it, killing the soldier who fired first, "NO!" the Monks and the soldiers began to fight amongst each other, "Doctor! Doctor! Nobody discharge their weapon in this room! Nobody!"

Lorna looked over to see a figure in a Monk's robe by the door, a small whirring device in his hand that opened the lock.

"Do not fire! Stop, wait!" Manton yelled, "Listen to me!" Lorna quickly snuck out, following the Monk, "I'm disarming my weapon pack," he pulled the pack from his gun, "Monks, I do this in good faith! I am now unarmed," and placed it on the floor, "All of you, discharge your weapon packs. The Doctor is trying to make fools of us...we are soldiers of God, we are not fools! We are not fools!"

"We are not fools!" the soldiers began to mimic, removing their packs as well.

"We are not fools!"

"We are not fools!" they chanted as more and more soldiers did the same, all following his lead, "We are not fools!" the chant continued, until the very last soldier put their pack on the floor, "We are not fools!"

"Oh, of course you're not," a voice said beside Manton. They all looked over, stunned, to see Evy standing there, wearing a Monk's robe as well, her hood down, "Only fools would cast off their weapons and leave themselves vulnerable to an enemy that's not even there...oh, wait..."

And a split second later the sound of teleports echoed through the base and the army found themselves surrounded by Silurians and Judoon while Strax appeared right next to Manton, aiming his gun.

"This base is now under our command," Strax reported to the man.

"I have a fleet out there!" Manton glared, turning to Evy, sensing a greater threat from her than the Sontaran, "If Demons Run goes down, there's an automatic distress call."

"Oh dear," she mock sighed before calling out, "What do you think about that Doctor?"

"I think," his voice came over the speaker and they looked over to see him standing on a raised platform, overlooking the hanger, a comm. in his hand, "That a distress call can't be made if we knock out the communications array," he smirked, "And you've got incoming!"

"Danny Boy to the Doctor Eve," a pilot came over the comm., "Danny Boy to the Doctor Eve."

"Give 'em hell, Danny Boy!" the Doctor ordered, putting his arms out and pretending to be a plane firing at the base.

"Oi!" Evy shouted up to him, laughing, "Don't make me whack you!"

A moment later they got the report of "Target destroyed!"

The Doctor laughed and winked down at Evy.

Manton could only hang his head, "Don't slump, it's bad for your spine!" Strax commanded.

"What do you think?" Evy turned to the soldiers who stood there with their hands behind their heads, "Horribly out-numbered, out-resourced, and out-weaponed…and you've been beaten without us laying a finger on you."

"I think," the Doctor called again, leaning on the platform, "That my Link is brilliant."

She laughed, "I suppose I'm not just good at backup plans eh?"

He blew her a kiss.

~8~

Kovarian walked through the halls, two soldiers carrying a basinet between them, following her. She stopped at the doorway to a ship, "Get back in there with the rest of them. Remember, the Doctor and his Link must think they're winning, right until the trap closes! I'll take my ship from here," she turned and keyed in a code at the door as the soldiers set down the bassinet and left.

"Airlock engaged," the computer said as she turned to look down at the child, "Shuttle ready for boarding."

Suddenly a sword was pressed to her neck as Rory stepped out, "No."

She turned to glare at him, "I have a crew of twenty. How do you expect to gain control of my ship?"

Rory scoffed and the airlock opened. One of the men was pushed through, trussed up and tied, with Captain Avery and his son behind him. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at her, "This ship is ours, m'lady!"

~8~

Strax escorted Manton, by gunpoint, to the communication room where the Doctor was sitting at the main control panel, Evy looking out at the army below, while Vastra, Jenny, and Dorium stood by.

"All airlocks sealed, resistance neutralized!" Strax reported.

The Doctor seemed to ignore Manton and turned to Evy, taking her hand and kissing the back of it, "Sorry, love, three minutes, 4 _2_ seconds."

She smiled at him, "I'll let it slide...this time," he returned the smile.

"Colonel Manton, you will give the order for your men to withdraw," Strax ordered the man.

"No," the Doctor turned to him, "Colonel Manton...I want you to tell your men to run away."

"You what?" Manton frowned.

"Those words. Run away. I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you Colonel Run-Away. I want children laughing outside your door, 'cos they've found the house of Colonel Run-Away…" he stood and pointed an angry finger at him, "And, when people come to you and ask if trying to get to us through the people we _love_ is in any way a good idea, I want you to tell them your name," suddenly a hand took his. He looked to his side, seeing Evy standing there. He eyed her for a moment as she looked at him, concerned, knowing what his temper could lea to, before she placed his hand on her stomach, the rhythmic kicking of their child soothing him, his anger melting away, somewhat abated. He took a breath and looked at Manton, "I'm really not sure what's going to happen now."

"The anger of a good man is not a problem," Kovarian called dismissively as she entered, escorted by guards, "Good men have too many rules."

The Doctor slowly turned to look at her, stepping before Evy, knowing this woman had no issue kidnapping a pregnant woman, "Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."

Kovarian glared at him, "Give the order," the Doctor stepped back, looking at Kovarian, surprised, while Evy frowned, "Give the order Colonel Run-Away."

~8~

Amy spun around as there was a knock on the nursery door, "Who's that, who's there?" she scrambled to find some sort of weapon, only managing to find an industrial thermometer to hold up, "You watch it, 'cos I'm armed, and really dangerous, and...cross!"

"Yeah," Rory scoffed from the other end, "Like I _don't_ know that."

"Rory? Rory, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me..." the sonic whirred, "Hang on a minute."

"They took her. Rory, they took our baby away."

The doors slid open and Rory stepped in, holding their daughter in his hands, "Now, Mrs. Williams...that is never, _ever_ going to happen."

"Oh, my God," she gasped as he walked towards her, "Oh, my God," she reached out, checking over the baby, "Where's she been, what have they done to her..."

"She's fine. Amy, she's fine, I checked. She's beautiful," he swallowed hard, starting to cry, "Oh, God, I was going to be cool. I wanted to be cool, look at me."

"You're ok. Crying Roman with a baby, definitely cool. Come here, you!" she pulled him into a deep kiss as the Doctor and Evy stepped through the doorway, hand-in-hand.

"Ugh, kissing and crying, we'll be back in a bit…" the Doctor grimaced.

"Oi!" Evy smacked him in the back of the head for ruining the beautiful moment.

Rory laughed and looked at them, "Get in here. Now," Evy grinned and practically ran into the room as the Doctor hurried to join her, both of them stopping at Rory's side, smiling at the baby, "My daughter. What do you think?"

"Hello," Evy cooed, "Oh Rory, Amy, she's beautiful."

The Doctor nodded, agreeing, "Hello, baby."

"Melody," Amy corrected.

"Melody," Evy smiled at her, "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

"Hello, Melody Pond!" the Doctor laughed.

Rory rolled his eyes, "Melody _Williams_."

"...is a geography teacher," Amy cut in, "Melody _Pond_ is a superhero!"

The Doctor leaned over, listening to Melody gurgle, "Well, yes, I suppose she does smell nice. Never really sniffed her, maybe I should give it a go. Amelia Pond, c'mere!" he turned to hug her.

"Doctor!" Amy laughed.

"We're so sorry it took us this long," Evy added as the Doctor sniffed Amy.

"It's ok, I knew you were coming," she turned and Evy hugged her as well, "All of you, my boys and my girl."

Melody squealed and Evy laughed, stepping back, "It's ok Melody, she's still all yours."

"And really you should call her 'Mummy,' not 'Big Milk Thing,'" the Doctor added.

"Ok, what are you doing?" Amy eyed them oddly.

"We speak Baby."

"No, you don't!"

"We speak _everything_ ," Evy smiled.

"Don't we, Melody Pond?" the Doctor asked her. She gurgled and he straightened his tie, "No, it's not...it's cool!"

Vastra entered the room, leaning on the railing at the top of the small stairs, "Doctor! Evy! Take a look. They're leaving," the duo walked to the window overlooking the hanger and watched as the soldiers marched away, "Demons Run is ours without a drop of blood spilled. My friends, you have never risen higher!"

Rory looked up, startled at the words, though the Doctor and Evy didn't notice.

Evy though, frowned as she looked out at the army. In the moment it had happened, she'd truly thought that everything had gone to plan…but now…something uneasy settled in her stomach as her child thumped against her hand, the same feeling she'd gotten outside the bathroom stall, something wasn't right here. Something was very, _very_ wrong.

~8~

Amy strode out of the TARDIS, comforting her daughter to her chest as she cried, "Hey what's wrong?" Rory ran over to her.

"She doesn't like the TARDIS noise," Amy remarked, "I asked the Doctor to turn something off, but it was all 'I don't want to punch a hole in the space-time continuum.' And then Evy smacked him. But the Doctor just pulled her off before she could do anything about the noise."

"Rory!" Jenny called as she and Strax walked over, "The Judoon have escorted the clerics out of the quadrant, Spitfires have returned to their own time, and Captain Avery and his men...is she alright?"

"Yes, she's just crying."

"Give her to me, human fool," Strax held out his hands, "She needs changing."

"I just changed her. I think she might need a feed."

"A feed, of course. I'll take care of everything," he stepped forward.

Rory blocked his way, "I really don't think you will, actually."

"I have gene-spliced myself for all nursing duties. I can produce magnificent quantities of lactic fluid."

"If only she were hungry Strax," Evy laughed as she stepped out of the TARDIS, holding what seemed to be a carousel of metal objects, "She's tired," she looked back over, holding the door to the box open for the Doctor who stepped out with a very old, purplish-blue, wooden cot.

"Sorry, Melody, they're just not listening," the Doctor sighed, setting it down.

"What's this?" Amy asked, watching as Evy moved to attach the carousel.

"Very pretty, according to your daughter."

"It's a...it's a cot," Rory eyed it.

"No flies on the Roman."

"Amy may I?" Evy asked, holding out her arms.

Amy nodded, gently handing her daughter over to Evy, "There we go."

"But where would you get a cot?" Rory continued as Evy gently set Melody down in it.

"It's old. _Really_ old. Doctor...Evy…have you ever had a baby before?"

The Doctor didn't answer, still feeling the sting of that loss, and looked at Melody, "No, it's real, it's my hair."

"Who slept in here?"

"Doctor!" Vastra called over the comm., "Evy! We need you in the main control room."

"Coming!" Evy called back.

The Doctor turned to Amy and Rory, "Things to do...we've still got to work out what this base is for. We can't leave till we know," he took Evy's hand and tugged her off.

"But this is where I was?" Amy called after them, making them stop, "The whole time I thought I was on the TARDIS, I was really _here_."

"Er..." the Doctor looked at Rory, sensing Amy was growing more upset, "Centurion, permission to hug?"

"Be aware, I do have a sword," Rory reminded him lightly, not at all perturbed.

"And I've got a vicious smack," Evy joked.

"At all times," the Doctor laughed, before hugging Amy tightly, "You were on the TARDIS too...your heart, your mind, your soul. But physically, yes, you were still in this place."

"And when I saw that face looking through the hatch...that woman looking at me..." Amy trailed.

"That was your reality bleeding through to your conscious," Evy remarked, giving her a hug as well, "I think they might have taken you when you went into the White House toilet," she still felt incredibly guilty about that. She hadn't gone in, but she'd allowed Amy to…and because of her, Amy had been taken.

"And I think they had you long before America," the Doctor countered, walking over to Evy, putting a comforting arm around her waist, hugging her to him. He didn't blame her, neither did Rory, when she'd told them her suspicions. None of them could really pin down just when it had happened so until they knew for sure, he wasn't placing blame.

"Either way...her Flesh avatar was with us all that time," Rory followed along with a frown, "But that means they were projecting a control signal right into the TARDIS. Wherever we were, in time and space."

"Yeah, they're very clever," the Doctor nodded.

"Who are?" Amy asked.

"Whoever wants your baby."

"But _why_ do they want her?"

"Exactly!" he pointed.

"Is there anything you're not telling us?" Rory turned to them, "You both knew Amy wasn't real, you never said."

"We didn't know if they could hear us or not," Evy explained.

"But you always hold out on us," Amy frowned, "Evy less so than you Doctor, but please, both of you, not this time," she looked at Evy, "Evy…it's our _baby_. Tell us something. One little thing."

The Doctor quickly interjected before Evy could crack, knowing the baby card would get to her, "It's mine."

"What is?" Rory eyed him.

"The cot. It's my cot. I slept in there."

"Oh, my God," Amy smiled, spotting the little stars on the carousel, "It's the Doctor's first stars," she glanced over to see the Doctor with his arm around Evy, his hand on her bump and shook her head, "But we can't use this though, it's for your…"

The Doctor laughed, "Don't worry Pond, we've still got _months_ before Evy's ready to pop, we can get you a proper cot by then. Use if for now."

Amy smiled at them, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled before turning and heading off with Evy.

Rory smiled down at their daughter, "She's…" he couldn't find the words.

Amy reached out and wiped Melody's mouth with the prayer leaf.

"Drop your weapons!" Strax shouted, "State your rank and intent!" they looked up as he marched Lorna over to them, "I found it listening at the door!"

~8~

The Doctor and Evy entered the communication room to see Dorium sitting at the controls before the monitor, Vastra standing in the back, "You hacked into their software already?" Evy asked, pouting just a bit, she really enjoyed hacking into things. The Doctor just smiled and gave _her_ a peck this time. She couldn't help but smile, she could see why the Doctor often faked a pout.

"I believe I sold it to them," Dorium remarked.

"So what have we learned?" the Doctor asked.

"That anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake," Vastra stated.

"Sorry?"

"The words of an old friend who once found me in the London Underground, attempting to avenge my sisters on perfectly innocent tunnel diggers."

Evy laughed, recalling that advice, "You were..." she cleared her throat, " _Very_ cross at the time."

"As you were today, Doctor," Vastra turned to him, "Point taken, I hope," he nodded, squeezing Evy's hand. He _had_ been very angry, especially when Evy had brought up her theory about when Amy had been taken, just the thought that it might have been Evy instead of Amy, or the both of them, set him off. Vastra nodded as well, "Now, I have a question. A simple one. Is Melody human?"

"What?" Evy blinked, startled at the question.

"Of course she is!" the Doctor laughed uncomfortably, "Completely human, what are you talking about?"

"They've been scanning her since she was born and I think they found what they were looking for," Dorium pulled up a screen.

"Human DNA…" he frowned, eyeing the strand on screen.

"Look closer," Vastra told them, "Human plus. Specifically..."

Evy's eyes widened, "Time Lord. Human plus Time Lord..."

~8~

"I heard her talking...this is a trap," Lorna told them, "Why would I lie to you?"

Rory stepped forward, "Well, you might want to take a look at your uniform."

"The only reason I joined the clerics was to meet the Doctor and Evy again."

"You wanted to _meet_ them, so you joined an army to _fight_ them?"

"Well, how else do you meet a great warrior?"

"Who's a great warrior?" Amy shook her head.

"The Doctor."

"He's not a warrior."

"But, then why's he called 'the Doctor?'" the lights went out, "It's starting. Please listen to me."

~8~

"But she's _human_ ," the Doctor shook his head, "She's _Amy_ and _Rory's_ daughter."

"You told me about your people," Vastra remarked, "They became what they did through prolonged exposure to the Time Vortex. The Untempered Schism..."

"But it took _billions_ of years," Evy reminded her, "It can't just...happen!"

"So how close is she? Could she even regenerate?"

"No, no!" the Doctor shouted.

"We don't _think_ so…" Evy frowned.

"You don't sound so sure," Vastra eyed them.

"Because we actually _don't understand_ how this even happened."

"Which leads me to ask... _when_ did it happen?"

"When?" the Doctor shook his head.

"I am trying to be delicate...I know how you can blush and how Evy teases you. When did this baby...begin?" she looked pointedly at Evy's stomach.

"Oh, you mean..."

"Quite."

"Well, how would we know? That's all humany, private stuff, it just sort of...goes on. They don't put up a balloon, or anything," he walked towards a hallway.

Vastra rolled her eyes and turned to Evy, sensing she would look at this the most logically, "But could the child have begun on the TARDIS, in flight, in the Vortex."

"No, no, impossible!" the Doctor walked back, "It's all running about, sexy fish vampires…" he turned to Evy, "Who don't hold a candle to you love…" and back to Vastra, "And blowing up stuff."

"Rory wasn't even _there_ at first," Evy thought out loud.

"Then he was dead," the Doctor agreed.

"And then he didn't exist…"

"Then he was plastic!"

"And we ended up rebooted the whole Universe..."

"So technically the first time they were on the TARDIS, together, in _this_ version of reality…"

"Was on their..." Evy's eyes widened.

"On their what?" Vastra tensed.

Evy looked at the Doctor in horror and he gulped, realizing it as well, "On their _wedding night_ ," he shook his head, "But it doesn't make sense! You can't just cook yourself a Time Lord."

"Of course not. But you gave them one hell of a start and they've been working very hard ever since."

"And yet they gave in so easily," Dorium remarked, "Does this not bother anyone else?"

"Amy!" Evy gasped, turning to the Doctor, "She didn't want to tell Rory she might be pregnant because she thought it might have a time head. Remember?"

"Yes but…" the Doctor began.

Vastra rolled her eyes at him, "Only you would ignore the instincts of a mother!"

"Or the instincts of a coward," Dorium added, "This is too easy."

Evy nodded, agreeing with him, "There's something wrong here."

"Why even do it?" the Doctor shook his head, "Even if you could get your hands on a brand new Time Lord, what for?"

"A weapon?" Vastra guessed.

"Why would a Time Lord be a weapon?"

"Well...they've seen…" she sighed and looked at the Doctor, "You."

"Me?" the Doctor fell down onto the chair behind him, stunned. Evy walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, but he seemed to not notice.

"Mr. Maldovar, you're right," Vastra turned to Dorium, "This _was_ too easy. We should get back to the others," she said it more for the Doctor's sake, knowing Evy would need to be alone with him for a few moments. She and Dorium headed out the door.

The Doctor looked up at Evy with tears in his eyes, "Me?"

Before she could even open her mouth to convey how utterly wrong using 'the Doctor' and 'Weapon' in the same sentence was, the screen flickered behind them and Kovarian appeared.

"I see you accessed our files," she remarked as they stood and turned to face her, "Do you understand yet? Oh, don't worry, I'm a long way away. But I like to keep tabs on you. The child then...what do you think?"

"What did you do to her?" Evy asked, "What is she?"

"Hope. Hope in this endless, bitter war."

"What war?" the Doctor demanded, "Against who?"

"Against _you_ , Doctor."

He slammed his hand down in anger, shouting, "A child is not a weapon!"

She mock sighed, "It is a pity that it had to be that child," she looked at Evy, "When a more suitable one was just within reach…"

The Doctor pushed Evy behind him and glared at her, "Leave her alone!"

She laughed, "You have no idea how close we came to getting her do you? If only she had entered that bathroom…we would have had a full-blooded Time Lord and returned your companion," his insides froze, Evy felt sick, they'd both been right in a way. Amy _had_ been taken before she'd even gotten to America, but the Silent in the bathroom had been waiting to snatch a pregnant woman, _her_ , "But this child…oh, give us time," Kovarian smirked, "She can be a weapon. She _will_ be."

"Except you've already lost her," the Doctor spat, "And I swear we will _never_ let you anywhere near her again."

"Oh, Doctor. Fooling you and your Link once was a joy...but fooling you both, twice, the same way, it's a _privilege_."

Evy's eyes widened in realization, "Melody..." she breathed.

"Amy!" the Doctor ran from the room, pulling Evy with him.

~8~

"Demons run, when a good man goes to war…"

~8~

The Doctor and Evy ran as quickly as they could through the compound, trying to get to the hanger in time.

~8~

"Night will fall and drown the sun, when a good man goes to war."

~8~

Evy winced, feeling a particularly hard kick from their child and pressed a hand to her stomach, holding it as they ran.

~8~

"Friendship dies and true love lies..."

~8~

"Amy!" the Doctor shouted.

~8~

"Night will fall and the dark will rise, when a good man goes to war."

~8~

"Almost there…" Evy breathed.

~8~

"Demons run but count the cost, the battle's won but the child is lost."

~8~

"Amy!" Evy yelled as they reached a locked door, looking for her sonic only to recall she'd given it to Rory.

"Amy!" the Doctor pulled out his sonic instead and flashed it, running in, "Amy, she's not real! Melody, she's a Flesh avatar," they ran to another door just outside the hanger and pounded on it, "Amy!" they ran in to see the fight was over, destruction was all around them, "Amy…"

"Yeah, we know," Rory said as he walked over to a dying Strax. Evy looked over, spotting Amy sitting on a crate, sobbing onto Jenny's shoulder and ran over to her, kneeling before her to get her attention. Amy fell off the crate and hugged Evy tightly, knowing she could relate more closely than anyone else, being pregnant herself.

"It's strange," Strax remarked, "I have often dreamed of dying in combat. I'm not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped."

"Come on, Strax, don't give up," Rory told him.

"It's alright, I've had a good life. I'm nearly twelve."

"Listen to me. You'll be back on your feet in no time. You're a warrior!"

"Rory...I'm a nurse," he gave one final smile of acceptance before his eyes fell closed.

"They took her anyway," Amy sobbed into Evy's shoulder as the Doctor walked over, "All this was for nothing…"

"I am so...sorry," the Doctor breathed and Amy winced at the sound of his voice, a small part of her blaming him, blaming the both of them. If she had never met him or Evy…she swallowed hard.

Evy looked up at Rory who nodded, kneeling down and taking his wife from the Time Lady, comforting her as the Doctor looked at Evy sadly, both of them heartbroken for what had happened, for what they hadn't been able to prevent.

"Doctor, Evy," Vastra called, "There's someone who wants to speak to you," the Doctor held out a hand, helping Evy up as they walked over to where a young girl in army garb was lying on the ground, sitting against a wall near the stairs, a wound in her stomach, "Her name is Lorna, she came to warn us."

The Doctor soniced her quickly, scanning, as he squatted down before her, Evy kneeling beside him, "Hey," Evy smiled softly as Lorna's eyes fluttered open.

"Hello," the Doctor greeted.

"Doctor," she breathed, "Evy."

"You helped our friends," the Doctor smiled at her, "Thank you."

"I met you once. In the Gamma Forests. You don't remember me…"

"Of course we remember you," Evy reached out and squeezed the girl's hand, "We remember _everyone_."

Her heart broke.

"Hey, we ran, you and us!" the Doctor laughed a bit, "Didn't we run, Lorna?"

Lorna nodded happily, her head lolling as she did so till, with one final squeeze of Evy's hand, she died.

"We always meet everyone in the wrong order don't we?" Evy blinked back tears. It hurt all the more to meet someone they hadn't met yet, especially when they would meet them later, knowing how they died.

"Who was she?" the Doctor looked at Vastra.

"I don't know but she was very brave," she remarked.

"They always are," Evy nodded, kissing Lorna's forehead.

The Doctor reached out and squeezed the girl's hand as well before he stood up, helping Evy up as well.

"So, what now?" Vastra asked them, "They'd almost certainly have taken her to Earth, raise her in the correct environment."

"They did," Evy nodded.

The Doctor swallowed hard, "And it's already too late."

"You're giving up?" Vastra's eyes widened as the Doctor walked away, without Evy, "You _never_ do that."

"Don't you sometimes wish I did?" he turned to her.

"Not _ever_ ," Evy whispered, moving to hug him. He held her tightly, burying his face in her neck.

There was a flash of light and a clap of energy as River appeared, dressed in Evy's olive green dress, "Well, then, soldiers, how goes the day?"

The Doctor tensed in Evy's arm and turned to glare at River, "Where _the hell_ have you _been_? Every time you've asked, we have been there. Where the hell were you today?"

"I couldn't have prevented this," she shook her head.

"You could've _tried_ ," Evy whispered.

"And so, my loves, could you," River told them before glancing at Amy and Rory, "I know you're not alright. But hold tight, Amy, because you're going to be."

"You think we wanted this?" the Doctor asked her, appalled, "We didn't do this. This...this wasn't us!"

"You're right," she conceded, "This wasn't the two of you, but…this was exactly YOU Doctor," the Doctor's eyes widened, "All this, all of it. You make them _so_ afraid by what you bring when you appear, and Evy can only clean up so much of it, but not enough," she sighed, looking at him, "When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the Universe, did you ever think you'd become _this_? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name? Doctor? The word for healer and wise man, throughout the Universe. Evy told me once that we get that word from you. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word 'Doctor' means mighty warrior. How far you've come. And now they've taken a child...the child of your best friends...and they're going to turn her into a weapon, just to bring you down, and your Link along with you because she's YOUR Link, and you are HERS. You would both tear apart the Universe to get back to one another and they know it. They've done all this my loves...in fear of you."

"Who are you River?" Evy asked her.

River just grinned, skipping back to avoid the question, "Oh, look, Doctor, your cot!" she said lightly, "Haven't seen that in a very long while."

The Doctor advanced, "No, no, you tell us. Tell us...who you are."

River took his right hand and Evy's left, "I _am_ telling you," and placed them on the edge of the cot, "Can't you read?"

They looked down, at the prayer leaf lying in the cot, the words they recognized as those of the Gamma Forest, their meaning clear. They looked at River, eyes wide.

"Hello," they breathed as one.

River beamed, "Hello."

The Doctor laughed nervously, "But...but that means..."

"I'm afraid it does."

Evy glanced back at Amy and Rory, "You're…"

"Yes."

The Doctor let out a joyful laugh, seeing the proof of their success in their next endeavor before them. He straightened his tie and took Evy's hand, "How do we look?"

"Amazing."

"We'd better be," Evy laughed.

"Yes, you'd better be."

The Doctor spun around, "Vastra and Jenny, till the next time."

"Rory, Amy," Evy ran over to them, plucking her sonic from where it was sticking out of Rory's pocket, "We _will_ find your daughter and I swear, on our lives, on the three of them, that she will be safe."

The Doctor held out a hand as Evy headed back to him, "River," he smiled at the woman, "Get them all home."

"Doctor?" Rory frowned as he and Evy headed for the TARDIS, "Evy?"

"No!" Amy shouted, "Where are you going? No!"

The Doctor and Evy held up their sonics, stopping the force field that had surrounded the box and entered. They paused in the doorway and laughed, smiling at River before heading inside and shutting the door.

Amy and Rory watched in confusion and shock as the TARDIS disappeared.

Amy turned to River, glaring, "Where're they going? What did you tell them?"

"Amy, you have stay calm…" River began.

Amy just picked up one of the guns off the floor and aimed it at River, "Tell me what you told them!"

"Amy, no, stop it!" Rory ran over to her.

"It's ok, Rory, she's fine, she's good," River said calmly, "It's the TARDIS translation matrix, it takes a while to kick in with the written word. You have to concentrate."

Amy looked down at the cot, but could only see Gallifreyan symbols, "I still can't read it."

Rory took the gun away.

"It's because it's Gallifreyan and doesn't translate. And besides, that wasn't what I showed them," she reached into the cot and took out the prayer leaf, " _This_ will translate, your daughter's name in the language of the forest."

"I know my daughter's name," Amy glared, snatching the cloth.

"Except they don't have a word for 'pond' because only water in the forest is the river. The Doctor and Evy will find your daughter and they will care for her whatever it takes and I know that…" she glanced down, watching as Amy and Rory eyed the stitching, the words morphing to 'River.' Amy flipped it over, seeing 'Song' on there too, before looking up at River, stunned, "It's me. I'm Melody. I'm your daughter."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm...now we know who River is, but who is she to the Doctor and Evy? Time will tell. 
> 
> In my Academic Series I made the scene with Lorna a sort of...the Doctor has had so many adventures with so many people he nearly forgot who Lorna was. Here, I thought it would be an interesting twist that the timing was wrong and they meet her before they had the adventure in the Gamma Forest. I don't think they specifically mentioned the Doctor asking who Lorna was because he didn't remember her or because he hadn't met her yet in the show, so here's one interpretation of it :)
> 
> Next chapter...something terrible happens to Evy and the baby. The Evy we meet now is quite...different...than the one from Demons Run. How will Evy cope with the Link when the Doctor is poisoned?


	12. Let's Kill Hitler

Amy and Rory drove through a cornfield in an old orange car, Rory at the wheel, Amy shouting out directions from a small paper of patterns she had in her hand, "Ok, left, sharp turn," she called and Rory cut the wheel, "Ok, right, no, no, no, I mean left! No, sorry, right, right, I definitely meant _right_ ," he turned the wheel again, making her squeal from the force of it, "A loop-de-loop!" he turned the wheel hard, holding it in place as they drove in a giant circle, "Stop. Stop!" he jammed on the brakes to find themselves at the edge of a giant crop circle, the TARDIS parked right in the center.

The Doctor was standing there, wearing basically his same outfit, but with a longer green coat, his arm around Evy whose stomach was now quite large, forcing her to wear a bigger lavender shirt and gray outfit, still tucked into black boots, determined to maintain her 'western' look regardless.

Evy watched them get out of the car and held up at a newspaper of the word 'DOCTOR' written in cursive on the field with the crop circle as the second O, the headline reading 'Leadworth Crop Circles' and pointed at it, "You've got to be kidding..."

"Well he never answered the phone," Rory shrugged, "Neither of you did now that I think about it."

Evy sighed, "It's his fault," she nudged the Doctor, "He stole my phone."

Amy quickly made her way over to them, "Ok, you've had all summer. Have you found her? Have you found Melody?"

"Permission?" the Doctor looked at Rory and Evy.

"Granted," Rory moved to look at the paper in Evy's hand as the woman in question nodded her assent.

The Doctor stepped forward and hugged Amy, "You know who she grows up to be, so you know, we WILL find her."

Amy pulled away, "But you haven't yet."

Evy hung back, looking at Amy sadly, she wanted to hug and comfort the girl as well, but…with her pregnancy being so obvious now, it was bound to stir up some less than pleasant memories for Amy, knowing _she_ was so close to giving birth and _they_ had just lost their daughter. So, for now, she would keep back.

"Hang on," Rory said, pulling her out of her thoughts, "What's this bit?" he pointed to a straight line cutting through the writing in the corn, heading straight for the O.

The Doctor snatched away the paper and looked at it, holding it up as he moved around the circle, trying to find the end of the line from the paper. Evy sighed and walked over to him, turning him to the right, "Ah, yes…" Amy and Rory gathered around him as they came to the edge of the circle, only to hear a roaring engine getting closer. He lowered the paper to see a bright red car heading towards them.

They all screamed, Amy and Rory jumping to the side as the Doctor pulled Evy away from the car, just narrowly missing hitting them both, which set his hearts beating furiously at how close his Link and their child had come to being hit. He knew he should have locked Evy in the TARDIS as he'd been tempted to do recently. Her size was getting the best of her, slowing her reflexes, making it harder for her to keep up. She wouldn't have been able to move fast enough to jump out of the way just then if he hadn't pulled her out, something she seemed to notice as she gave him a quick kiss and murmur of thanks.

He let out a sigh, knowing if he even _attempted_ locking her in the TARDIS, not only would the TARDIS mutiny on him and let her out, but he'd get one hell of a smacking later for it. Evy really did have a vicious smack, perfected of the years. He nodded, helping her up as they looked over to see the car had skid to a halt just inches away from the corner of the TARDIS, a young black woman, about 20 years old, with long dark hair, a pink and black dress, black vest, and black boots stepping out to look at them, still partially on the ground.

"You said he was funny. You never said he was hot," she glanced at Evy, "And who's the elephant?"

"Oi!" Evy snapped, "Pregnant!"

Amy nearly laughed at that, recalling the Dream Lord's world and the size she'd been…but then that made her think of Melody which reminded her…

"Mels!" Rory helped Amy up and headed over to the woman.

"What are you doing here?" Amy asked.

"Following you," Mels turned to them, "What'd you think?"

The Doctor shook his head, helping Evy up completely, he'd learned enough from the Dream Lord to know NEVER to comment on Evy's size either in his mind or to her.

' _Am I really THAT big?_ ' Evy's quiet voice drifted to him, sounding sad and hurt.

That was another thing that the end of the pregnancy was doing to her, making her far more emotional than before. Usually she wouldn't care but that was the thing with Time Lord pregnancies. The baby was usually relatively small during the first year or so of development, but in the last few months they rapidly grew which caused the mothers to experience sudden heavy weight gain, abnormal hormone levels, and really just threw them off. She'd only really started getting large about a month ago, during their search for Melody, which meant there was probably about three months of her actual pregnancy left…

' _Yes,_ ' he told her quickly, honestly, ' _But I must say it becomes you._ '

' _What?_ '

' _You've never been more beautiful to me,_ ' he told her sincerely, placing a gentle hand on her stomach, ' _You're carrying my child in here, you have no idea how sexy that is._ '

She laughed a bit, feeling better, nuzzling the side of his face a moment.

"Um, where did you get the car?" Rory asked, snapping them from their thoughts.

"It's mine…" Mels replied, when they heard sirens, "Ish."

"Oh Mels not again," Amy sighed.

"You can't keep doing this," Rory told her, "You're going to end up in prison."

"Sorry!" the Doctor cut in finally, "Hello," he greeted to Mels before turning back to Amy and Rory, "Doctor not following this, Doctor very lost. You never said I was hot?"

Evy shook her head, trust him to worry more about whether he was hot or not than the fact there was some strange woman, in a stolen car, on the run, who'd nearly killed them. She could understand Mels not really paying attention to her though, she'd learned long ago that Amy had focused more on the Doctor as a child, which was fine, he was a rather worthwhile topic…and then she blushed because the Doctor had turned to look at her, shooting her a wink, clearly having heard that.

Mels just ignored him and pointed at the TARDIS, "Is that the phone box? The bigger-on-the-inside phone box?" the Doctor pointed at her, confused, as he looked at Amy and Rory, "Oh, time travel," she turned to lean on it, "That is just _brilliant_ ," the Doctor frowned and moved to lean against the corner of the box with Evy, looking at Mels, even more confused, "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you," she rolled her eyes jokingly, "About you both Evy, I'm their best mate."

"Then why don't we know you?" the Doctor asked, "I danced with everyone at the wedding," Evy snorted, recalling that, "The women were all brilliant, the men were a bit shy."

"I wonder why?" Evy joked.

Mels just walked away from them, "I don't do weddings," she sighed, hearing the sirens getting louder, "And that's me, out of time," she suddenly spun and turned a gun on the Doctor and Evy. She'd been aiming more for Evy, expecting the others would be more inclined to do as she asked if the pregnant one was in trouble, but the Doctor had been quick to stand in front of her, holding up his hands.

"Mels!" Amy exclaimed.

"For God's sake…" Rory's eyes widened.

"What are you doing?!"

"I need out of here, now," Mels replied.

"Anywhere in particular?" the Doctor asked, his back tense as Evy actually stayed behind him instead of forcing her way to his side as she always did. At least he could be thankful her sense of self preservation had improved with the expansion of her stomach.

She thumped him on the back for that one.

"Let's see…you've got a time machine, I've got a gun," Mels grinned, "What the hell, let's kill Hitler!"

~8~

A long time ago, in Leadworth, a young Amelia opened up a cardboard box filled with her Doctor and Evy creations with a younger Mels beside her, "Is he hot?" Mels asked as Amelia pulled out a small model of the TARDIS.

"No, he's funny."

"What about the girl? Is she pretty?"

Amelia shrugged, "I suppose, he seemed to think so," she crinkled her nose.

Mels pulled a small Doctor doll out of the box and moved to flop onto the bed, "But how can they travel in time?"

"'Cos they've got a time machine stupid."

Just then the door opened and a young boy with a mop of light brown hair ran in, "I thought we were playing hide and seek. I've been hiding for _hours_."

"Well, we just haven't found you yet."

"Ok," he sighed, dejected, moving to leave, "Hi Mels."

"Hi Rory," Mels rolled her eyes.

~8~

A young woman stood before the class of children, having just written on the board some facts about the _Titanic_ and looked at Mels as she stood before her, "Mels did you not understand the question? I'm asking you why the _Titanic_ sank?"

"Because the Doctor didn't save it. Except you don't know about the Doctor because you're stupid," Mels answered, crossing her arms…only to get sent to the head teacher's office where Amelia was waiting for her to get out.

"Why are you always in trouble?" she asked as they walked to the playground, "You're the most in trouble in this whole school except for boys."

"And you."

"I count as a boy."

"Am I getting warm?" Rory called as he reached out, a blindfold on his eyes.

"Yes Rory…" Mels sighed.

~8~

"Mels…" an older man sighed, shaking his head at the teenager before him in the classroom.

"A significant factor in Hitler's rise to power was the fact that the Doctor didn't stop him," she crossed her arms smirking…only to get sent to the head teacher's office where Amy was waiting for her outside.

"I can't keep doing this!" she called as Mels walked past her.

~8~

Mels plopped back onto Amy's bed after the ginger had bailed her out of jail, "I was late, so I took a bus."

"You _stole_ a bus," Rory corrected.

"Who steals _a bus_?" Amy paced.

"I returned it," she shrugged, fiddling with the model of the TARDIS.

"You drove it through the botanical gardens," Rory reminded her.

"Short cut."

"Why can't you just act like a person?" Amy turned to her, "Hmm? Like a normal, legal person?"

"I don't know. Maybe I need a Doctor."

Amy just snatched the TARDIS from her, "Stop it."

"Um," Rory called, "I better go. I'm on earlies tomorrow."

"Ok."

"It's alright for you," Mels continued as Rory packed up, "You've got Mr. Perfect keeping you right."

"He's not even real. Not him, not Evy. Just a stupid dream when I was a kid," she tossed her the TARDIS as Rory headed for the door.

"No, I wasn't talking about him," she looked pointedly at Rory.

"What Rory?" Amy asked as Rory stopped dead, "How have I got Rory?"

"Yeah…" he turned around, his eyes wide, "How…how's she got me?"

"He's not mine."

"No. No, I'm not hers."

"Oh come on," she laughed, looking between them, "Seriously, it's _got_ to be you two," Amy just looked at her, confused, "Oh, cut to the song it's getting _boring_."

"Nice thought, ok, but completely impossible," Amy shook her head.

"…yeah!" Rory cleared his throat, "It um…impossible."

"Yeah, I'd love to. He's gorgeous, he's my favorite guy," she walked over and patted his back "But he's…you know…gay."

"A friend," Rory said at the same time, before looking at Amy, shocked, "I'm not gay!"

"Yes you are."

"No…no I'm not."

"Course you are, don't be stupid. In the whole time I've known you, when have you shown the _slightest interest_ in a GIRL?"

"Penny in the air," Mels smiled, watching them.

"I mean, I've known you for what, ten years? I've seen you practically every day. Name one girl you've paid the slightest bit of attention to," Rory just stared at her a moment before tuning and bolting from the room. Amy stood there, confused for a moment, before realizing something, pointing to herself as she gasped, "Oh my God! Rory!" and ran out after him.

"And the penny drops!" Mels laughed, getting up, hearing Amy calling for Rory in the distance, "Catch you later," she tossed the TARDIS onto the bed, "Time Lords."

~8~

The TARDIS was whizzing through the air, the Doctor and Evy piloting her, when a shot rang out. Evy gasped and put a hand to her chest, looking at the bullet hole in the rotor just beside her head.

The Doctor was at her side in an instant, checking to make sure she hadn't been hurt before rounding on Mels angrily, "You almost shot Evy! You _did_ shoot the TARDIS!" Mels struggled to hold onto the railing by the steps, much like Amy and Rory were around the console, the lights red, steam blasting out from the rotor, "You shot the console! You nearly shot my Link!"

"It's your fault!" Mels called at the same time as Evy.

"Ahh!" he let out a groan and turned to Evy, "How's it _my_ fault?"

"I don't know!" she shouted above the noise, "But isn't it always?"

"You said guns didn't work in this place," Mels told him, "You said we're in a state of temporal grace!"

He rolled his eyes, getting back to the console, though positioning Evy on the other side, away from Mels and the gas, "Oh that was a clever lie you idiot. Anyone could tell that was a clever lie."

~8~

"Crash landing!" the Doctor shouted as he pulled a lever, the TARDIS unable to fly properly while damaged, she'd need to land in order to start repairing herself, or at least let the gas clear out before he or Evy could fix her. He was actually quite glad that Amy and Rory and even Mels were in the control room...he did NOT need to hear the TARDIS shouting at him about getting shot...

"Assume the position!" Evy warned.

They all ducked down, holding their heads, the Doctor beside Evy, offering more support and protection as the TARDIS crashed through a wall and came to a jolting halt. The Doctor was on his feet quickly, ushering them to the door, "Out, out, out!" he shouted as he and Evy held hankies over their mouths, "Everybody out!" Rory, Amy, and Mels ran out after them.

"Whatever you do don't breathe the smoke!" Evy agreed, "Get out!"

"Where are we?" Amy coughed, looking around at the room the TARDIS had landed in.

"A room," the Doctor replied.

"What room?" Rory asked.

"I don't know what room, I haven't memorized every room in the Universe yet, I had yesterday off," he turned to Evy and grabbed her head in his hands, looking at her, just checking through the Link that she was alright, that the baby was alright, that the smoke hadn't affected them.

She put a hand on his and nodded, earning a sigh of relief from him before she added, "Mels," with a nod towards the TARDIS.

He turned to see her standing in the doorway where the smoke was pouring out and ran over to her, "Don't go in there!" he grabbed the door and shut it, "Bad smoke!" managing to take her gun in the process.

"OI!" she called.

"Don't breathe the bad, bad smoke. Bad, _deadly_ smoke because somebody shot our TARDIS!"

Mels just walked off with a roll of her eyes.

"Doctor," Evy called as she moved to kneel down beside Amy, by a man lying on the floor, across from Rory who was checking him.

"This guy...I think he's hurt," Rory added, checking, "No wait, hold on," he leaned forward, "He's fine."

Evy frowned and pulled her sonic out of its holster, quickly flashing the man and looking at the results. She glanced over at the Doctor about to tell him her findings, only to see him fiddling with gun he'd taken from Mels before putting it in a bowl of fruit on the desk before him, just as a man started to pick himself up…and then she noticed the swastikas on the wall...well...this would be...interesting.

"Oh!" the Doctor's eyes widened as he backed up, "Hello! Sorry is this your office?" Amy moved to help Evy stand, offering the woman a small smile, "Had a sort of collision with my vehicle. Faults on both sides, let's say no more about…" the man turned around to reveal a dark haired male with a short, almost laughable, square mustache, Adolf Hitler himself, "…it…"

Amy ran to the Doctor's side as Rory and Evy moved to his other side, "Is that…no it can't be Doctor…"

"Thank you, whoever you are," Hitler told them, "I think you have just saved my life."

"…believe me, it was an accident," he told the man.

Hitler looked over at the TARDIS, embedded in the wall, "What is this thing?" he walked over to it as Amy and Rory stepped before the Doctor, Evy at his side.

"What did he mean we just saved his life?" Amy asked them, "We cannot have just saved _Hitler_."

"1938," Evy told the Doctor, "Got a few years to go," and then to Amy, "So, we didn't _really_ save him."

The Doctor couldn't help but grumble silently to himself. This was just great, now, not only were they in Berlin on the eve of a world war, but they were standing right before the man responsible for it all…a very dangerous man…and his Link was in the room…his _pregnant_ Link was in the same room as a war criminal...no, he was _not_ a happy camper. He turned and stormed over to Mels, "You see! You see, time travel. It never goes to plan."

Mels just rolled her eyes.

"This box, what is it?" Hitler asked.

The Doctor tuned on him as well, "It's a police telephone box from London, England," and walked towards him, "That's right Adolf, the British are coming."

"Doctor!" Evy shouted, seeing the man on the ground start to stand, really a robot her sonic told her.

Hitler seemed to see him as well for he cried out, "No! Stop him!" and grabbed his gun, firing quickly as the Doctor had the brains to duck down.

Rory ran forward, seeing the man nearly shoot the Doctor, and punched Hitler, knocking him down and grabbing his gun, "Sit still," he cocked the gun and aimed it at Hitler, "Shut up."

Hitler put his hands up.

Amy ran to the man's side, "Are you ok?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine," he nodded, "I think he missed."

The Doctor looked at Evy who was frowning and watching the man suspiciously.

"He was going to _kill_ me!" Hitler shouted.

"Shut up Hitler!" Rory snapped.

"Rory take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there," the Doctor called, "Now. Do it."

"Right…putting Hitler in the cupboard…" Rory muttered as he grabbed Hitler and led him to the small door in the wall, "Cupboard, Hitler. Hitler, cupboard…"

"But I am the fuehrer!" Hitler struggled.

"Right, in you go," he shoved the man in.

"Who are you?!"

Rory simply shut the door right in the fuehrer's face.

"Are you ok?" the Doctor asked the other Nazi, peering at him closely, but not thinking to use his sonic yet, he'd seen Evy using her own before.

"Oh…I…" the man fainted backwards, right off the desk he'd moved to sit on. Amy jumped and knelt beside him as Rory walked back over.

"I think he just fainted," Rory commented.

"Yes," Evy nodded, sitting on the desk, eyeing the man distrustfully, "A PEFRECT faint."

The Doctor looked at her questioningly, seeing her expression, ' _It's a robot,_ ' she told him.

His eyes widened a bit as he nodded, looking down at the man once more.

Amy sighed and looked up, spotting Mels clutching her side, "Mels?"

"Hitler…" she breathed.

"What about him?" the Doctor asked.

"Lousy shot," and then she collapsed onto the ground.

"Mels?" Amy gasped, "Mels!" she ran over to her side.

"Rory!" the Doctor shouted as he and Evy moved over as well.

"No, no, no, no, no, we've got to stop the bleeding," Rory pressed on the wound.

~8~

Inside the robot, miniaturized people worked frantically at the computers controlling it. One man turned in his seat, back to the captain sitting in his chair, "Sir…that blue box. I've got a match," he looked down at the information on his screen, "We're trying to bag war criminals...we've got the biggest one _ever_ right under our noses," the captain walked over, "Forget Hitler. We take this one down, the justice department will give us the rest of the _year_ off."

"Are you sure?" the captain asked, looking at the information.

"There's no question. It's her."

~8~

"How bad is it?" Amy asked, seeing her best friend enter a daze, "Rory what can we do?"

"Just keep her conscious," he replied, "Stay with us Mels."

"Hey, look at us," the Doctor tried to help as well.

"Hold on Mels," Evy added, taking the girl's hand.

"I used to dream about you…" Mels told them, "All those stories Amy used to tell me."

"What stories?" the Doctor asked, trying to distract her, "Tell me what stories. Vampires in Venice, that's a belter."

"When I was little. I was gonna marry you," Mels laughed, "The both of you, can't get one without the other eh?"

Evy laughed a bit at that, "That's a _brilliant_ dream."

The Doctor nodded, "You stay alive and we'll marry you. Deal? Deal?"

"Shouldn't you ask my parents' permission?" Mels asked them.

"As soon as you're well I'll get them on the phone."

"Might as well do it now, since they're both _right here_ ," Mels grinned as their eyes widened, exchanging a look at each other and then Amy and Rory and back to her, "Penny in the air," her hands started to glow a golden-orange, "Penny drops."

The Doctor helped Evy up slowly, backing away with her as they stared at Mels in shock, everything literally falling into place.

"What the hell is going on?" Rory demanded.

"Back, back, back, get back!" the Doctor lunged forward and pulled them away.

Mels stood up, looking at her hands, "Last time I did this...I ended up a toddler in the middle of New York…" she backed up to the middle of the room.

"Ok, Doctor explain what is happening," Amy called, "Please!"

"Mels, I'm assuming that was short for…" Evy began.

"Melody," Mels nodded.

"Yeah, I named my daughter after her…" Amy shook her head, not understanding.

"You named your daughter…after your daughter," the Doctor told her.

"It took me years to find you two," Mels told them, looking at Amy and Rory with a soft smile, "But I'm so glad I did. And you see. It all worked out in the end didn't it? You got to raise me after all."

" _You're_ Melody?" Amy breathed.

"But…if she's Melody that means that she's also…" Rory began when Mels cut in.

"Oh shut up dad, I'm focusing on a dress size…" and then she threw her arms and head back with a scream, the regeneration energy blasting out of her, forcing them all to duck down by the desk as she morphed, before their eyes, into River Song.

She gasped, coming out of the throws of regeneration, "Oh, right. Let's see then…" she looked down, feeling herself, examining herself, "Oh, it's all going on down there, isn't it?" Rory moved to Evy's side, helping her up along with the Doctor as they stared, "Hair!" she felt her curly hair, "The hair!" she ran to a mirror a few feet away, before a chair set in front of the cupboard Hitler was hidden in, and looked at herself, "It just doesn't stop does it? Look at that! _Everything_ changes! Oh but I love it! I _love_ it!" she spun around to them, "I'm all sort of…mature…" she put her leg on a fallen table, attempting to look sexy, "Hello Benjamin!"

The Doctor covered his eyes a moment and turned to Evy, whispering, "Who's Benjamin?"

"It's from a movie," she told him quickly, "That line is given by, believe it or not, Mrs. Robinson."

"Ironic," he muttered, thinking of when they'd gone to America, before looking at Melody as she clicked her teeth.

"The teeth!" she spun around again, feeling her teeth, "The teeth! The teeth! Oh! Oh Look at them!" she ran over to the Doctor and Evy, half forcing the girl to jump back and settle between the Doctor's legs, forcing them both onto the desk as she put her arms on either side of them, "Watch out that bow-tie! And love that jacket!" she tugged on Evy's jacket just a bit before turning around to her parents, "Excuse me you lot, I need to weigh myself!" and ran out of the room.

"That's…Melody…" Amy breathed, in shock, as she sat on one side of the desk, Rory on the other. The Doctor just pushed himself more onto the desk, his arms wrapped around Evy's middle, holding her as he rested his chin on her shoulder, equally as stunned as Melody's parents.

"That's River Song…" Rory muttered.

"Who's River Song?" they looked over to see Melody in the doorway of the room she'd run into.

"…spoilers?" the Doctor suggested.

"Spoilers? What's spoilers?" she put a hand on her hip and her eyes widened, "Hang on, just something I have to check…" and ran out again.

Evy moaned and rubbed her forehead, twisting to look at the Doctor, "If you just taught her the word 'spoilers,' I _will_ kill you."

Ever since they'd met the older River during the astronaut fiasco she'd been finding that word to be rather annoying. At first it was amusing, like River was just keeping little details from them about their future, funny bits, but lately, it seemed like the spoilers were far more serious, possibly even life threatening and that was never good.

"Does anybody else find this day just a bit difficult?" Rory asked, rubbing his head as well.

"Are you getting a sort of pounding in your head?" Evy asked him.

"Yeah."

"Me too."

"Yeah, I think that's Hitler in the cupboard," Amy remarked.

"That's not helping," Rory said.

"This isn't the River Song we know yet," the Doctor got off the table and took Evy's hand, walking with her to the middle of the room where Mels had regenerated, "This is her right at the start…doesn't even know her name…"

"OH!" Mels gave a cry, "That's _magnificent_!" they turned slowly to see her in the doorway again, "I'm gonna wear lots of jumpers!"

~8~

"That's her alright," the young man called from his computer, "Melody Pond, the woman who kills the Doctor."

~8~

"Well now, enough of all that," Melody whipped out Hitler's revolver and aimed it at the Doctor who quickly stepped before Evy just to be safe, "Down to business."

"Oh, hello," the Doctor began as Amy and Rory took an automatic step back, "I thought we were all getting married."

Melody walked closer, "I told you, I'm not a wedding person."

"Evy," Rory called softly, not wanting to distract the Doctor, "What's she doing?"

"What the Silence told her to," she replied.

"But where'd she get the gun?"

"Hello Benjamin," the Doctor replied, knowing she'd grabbed it off the chair by the mirror when she'd gone to check her appearance.

"You noticed," Melody remarked as she moved before the desk and tried to fire, but no bullets came out. Amy and Rory flinched but the Doctor just grinned.

Evy stepped out a little more from behind him, having seen his plan forming and seen what he'd done, emptying the gun when Mels was regenerating. She would have probably done it herself but with her size, it was difficult to run that quickly.

Sensing her thoughts, the Doctor took her hand again, "Of course I noticed. As soon as I knew you were coming," he took a few steps towards her, Evy trailing just behind him, "I tidied up a bit."

Melody dropped the gun, "I know you did," and moved to pull another out of her vest.

"I know you know," he smirked at the banana in Melody's hand, he'd switched the fruit bowl when she had gone to compliment his bow-tie, he knew enough about other people's reactions to it, save Evy's, that they only complimented it when they wanted something.

"Goodness, is killing you going to take all day?" Melody asked, staring at the banana in her hand.

The Doctor just plucked it from her, "Why? You busy?" he then tossed it to Evy, "Here love, good source of potassium."

She laughed, rolling her eyes, but took it anyway, "With all the bananas you keep giving me, this baby's going to be more clever than you and me combined," and indeed, he seemed to find some way to give her a banana each week in some form, milkshakes, cakes, ice cream, it was lucky that banana seemed to be the one flavor she constantly craved.

"Oh, I'm not complaining," Melody turned to the desk and grabbed a letter opener, moving to slash at him but the Doctor soniced the opener out of her hand, also pushing Evy back behind him a bit more.

"If you were in a hurry you could have killed me in the cornfield," he put it away.

"We'd only just met! I'm a psychopath," she watched as he turned to walk back towards Rory and Amy with Evy and turned to the desk again, eyeing the gun in the fruit bowl, "Not rude," she muttered, grabbing it and firing. Amy and Rory ducked down but the Doctor turned, the clip in his hand.

Melody's jaw tensed as yet another weapon failed.

"You are not a psychopath!" Amy cried, walking back towards the Doctor and Evy's side with Rory, "Why would she be a psychopath?"

"Oh, mummy, mummy pay attention," Melody walked forward, slowly circling the Doctor as he did the same, Evy standing in between Rory and Amy where he'd positioned her, Rory with his arm around her as she rested a hand on her stomach, growing uneasy. The Doctor was getting cocky now…that's when things tended to go wrong, as they had learned during Demons Run, "I was trained and conditioned for one purpose. I was born to kill the Doctor and through his Link with her," she glanced at Evy, "Evelyn Daniels as well."

The Doctor tensed and glanced at Amy, "Demons Run. Remember? This is what they were building," he turned to face Melody as she stepped close to him, "My bespoke psychopath."

"I'm all yours sweetie," she gave him a quick peck on the lips which made both him and Evy uncomfortable, the Doctor even stepped back from her so she couldn't do it again.

"Only River Song can call him that," Evy told her, having worked out ages ago that River only called him that to irritate him.

"And who's River Song?"

"An old friend of ours," the Doctor told her.

"Stupid name," she remarked, walking towards a window overlooking Berlin, "Oh! Look at that!" she breathed, "Berlin on the eve of war. A whole world about to tear itself apart," she turned back to them, "Now that's my kind of town. Mum, dad, don't follow me, and yes, that _is_ a warning."

"No warning for us then?" the Doctor asked as he stepped back over to Evy.

Melody smirked, "No need my loves, the deed is done. And so are you."

The Doctor took a step forward and nearly collapsed to the ground, Evy falling behind him clutching her chest. Amy ran to the Doctor's side as Rory rushed to help support Evy and keep her from falling more and hurting herself or the baby, "Doctor what's wrong?" Amy cried.

"What have you done?" the Doctor asked, his attention turning from Evy to Melody, holding his chest as well, "River…" he breathed, wincing in pain, feeling like he couldn't breathe, feeling Evy struggle to breathe as well.

"Oh, River, River, River…" Melody rolled her eyes, "More than a friend I think…what would Evy think of that?"

"What have you done?" he shouted, collapsing to the ground and looking at her.

"It was never going to be a gun for you Doctor. The man of peace and his Link. Who understands every kind of warfare except, perhaps, the cruelest," she smiled as his eyes widened and he wiped his lips, "Kiss, kiss," she blew him a kiss and dropped down out the window.

"What's wrong with you?" Rory asked Evy, looking between her and the Doctor, "What has she done to you?"

"Poisoned him," Evy groaned out, "The Link affects me as the poison affects him."

"But we're fine," the Doctor tried to assure not only them but Evy as well, he didn't need her stressing too much, they needed to figure out a way to save themselves before the baby was hurt. He was trying his best to block the pain from her, but...the pain was very distracting in and of itself.

"You're _dying_!" she snapped at him, her hand on her stomach.

"But I've got a plan," he tried again.

"What plan?" Amy looked at him.

"Not dying. See, we'll be fine," he crawled to Evy, taking her head in his hands, straining even as he did so, "I promise," he whispered to her, "We'll be fine. I promise…"

~8~

"Scanning him," a young woman in the robot called, "He's dying alright, and she's feeling it if the legend of the Link is to be believed."

"But…he can't be…" the young man shook his head.

~8~

The Doctor groaned and pushed himself up, Amy helping him as Rory struggled to help Evy up though she kept hunching over and clutching her stomach, the baby not seeming to be in pain just yet, but seemed to be fearful.

"Ok, what do we do?" Rory asked them, "How do we help you?"

Evy handed Amy her sonic as the Doctor said, "Take it, the TARDIS can home in on it," and then ushered Rory over. He quickly leaned Evy against the door and ran to the Doctor who shoved him towards the window, "Now go, get after her."

Rory nodded and ran towards the window as Amy helped the Doctor over to Evy's side as she ran a finger along the TARDIS lock, opening her, "You said the smoke was deadly!"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, the smoke's fine," the Doctor waved her off, "The poison will kill me first," he struggled into the TARIDS, leaning against the doorframe and holding an arm out to Evy to help her in as well, "Now get after River."

"I don't understand ok, one minute she's gonna marry the both of you and then she's gonna kill you…"

"Ah well, she's been brainwashed, it all makes sense, plus she's a woman. Oh, shut up, I'm dying," he shoved her towards the window and dashed into the TARDIS with Evy, both of them shutting the doors and coughing at the gas.

"Extractor fans on!" Evy shouted and the fans started up.

The Doctor looked up as though surprised it had worked, "Oh! That works?"

"Come on," Evy struggled towards the console. The Doctor took her arm, both of them struggling to support the other forward, much like they had done the last time they regenerated.

~8~

The captain of the robot sighed as they were knocked down by Rory who had also stolen their motorbike with Amy in an attempt to catch up to Melody, "Ok, this time, let's do the bike too," his crew got to work, shifting the robot to also have a bike and they sped off after the duo.

"You see, he _can't_ be dying," the young man pointed at the screen with the Doctor's death date on it.

"But the Doctor is _confirmed deceased_. We have his records."

"But he doesn't die _here_. He does in Utah by Lake Silencio, April 22nd, 2011."

"Time can be rewritten," the young woman reminded him, "Remember Kennedy?"

"This time can't. It's confirmed _fixed point_. The Doctor must always die exactly then, he always has and he always will."

"Then someone screwed up because he's dying right now," the captain remarked.

~8~

The Doctor and Evy collapsed to the floor of the console, groaning in pain. The Doctor winced, this was one of the few times he regretted the Link. Not that he had Linked to Evy, but that the Link caused her to also feel his pain as well, made her feel as though she were dying along with him…when they both knew a worse fate would await her should he pass on.

He winced again as a weak smack struck the back of his head, "Continue that thought and I'll hit you harder," Evy threatened, not wanting to even _entertain_ the thought that he would truly die.

He nearly laughed before groaning, "Ok, we're shutting down…going to need an interface…"

"Voice interface!" Evy shouted and the quiet murmurs of concern they'd heard from the voice of the TARDIS faded, only one form of communication could be used at a time. The use of an interface would cancel out the chip she'd installed for the time being.

"Come on, emergency."

A hologram of the Doctor appeared, "Voice interface enabled."

"No! No, no, no, no, no, let me see someone I like!" the image shifted to Evy, "I said _like_ not _love_!" he cried, were he to die with Evy being the last thing he saw, he'd die peacefully, but he wanted the _real thing_ , not a fake. The image shifted to Rose, "Oh, thanks! Give me guilt," and then to Martha, "Also guilt," and Donna, "More guilt!" he clutched his chest.

"Come on!" Evy shouted, her own pain hitting her hard along with her fear for the baby, "There has to be _someone_ in the Universe left that he hasn't screwed up yet," she looked at him, "No offense dear."

He just waved her off, she'd taken the words right out of his mouth, though put them in a more joking manner than he would have. He closed his eyes and clutched his chest in pain, his other hand blindly reaching out for Evy's.

"Voice interface enabled," a young female voice said with a Scottish accent.

They looked up to see Amelia standing there, "Oh…oh. Amelia Pond. Before I got it all wrong. My sweet little Amelia."

"I am not Amelia Pond, I am a voice interface."

"Hey, let's run away and have adventures. Come along Pond."

"I am not Amelia Pond, I am a voice interface."

"My God you are _so_ Scottish," Evy laughed.

"How am I doing?" the Doctor asked her.

"Your system has been contaminated by the poison of the Judas Tree," the hologram replied, "You will be dead in 32 minutes."

Evy winced in pain as the Doctor grabbed his neck, "Ok, so…" he swallowed hard, squeezing Evy's hand, "Basically, better regenerate that's what you're saying?"

"Regeneration disabled. You will be dead in 32 minutes."

"Well there goes that option," Evy remarked.

"Unless I'm cured yeah?" the Doctor asked, knowing that he'd have to be given the cure in order for Evy to be saved as well. That was another thing about the Link, if one was dying the other felt it, but you couldn't save the dying one by focusing on the other, it had to be settled in the place it originated.

"There is no cure," the hologram replied, "You will be dead in 32 minutes."

"Why do you keep _saying_ that?"

He didn't like hearing that. He didn't like hearing that he'd be dead, that he'd never get to see his child, spend the rest of his regenerations with Evy, that she would be in excruciating pain should he die to the point of wishing for death, that he was going to be leaving anyone behind…

"Because you will be dead in 32 minutes."

"And _again_ ," Evy cut in, squeezing his hand tightly, trying to lighten the mood, "You're skipping 31 other minutes where he's just _fine_. Scottish!"

"He will be fine for 31 minutes. He will be dead in 32 minutes."

"Scotland's never conquered anywhere you know," the Doctor added, "Not even a Shetland. River needs us. She's only just beginning. I _can't_ die now."

"You will not die now. You will die in 32 minutes."

"You?" Evy challenged him, "Going down without a fight?"

He started to smile, feeling the challenge coursing through him...when they both screamed and grabbed their chest, Evy's more muffled as she bit her lip to keep from crying out. The Doctor fell to the floor on his stomach while Evy curled up on her side, feeling the pains from him travelling to her despite how much he was trying to block the pain. But he was too new to the Link, having only been Linked to her for a very small fraction of the time she'd been Linked to him, she could cut off her sensations well enough, she'd had _centuries_ to learn how to do it effectively, but he still struggled with it.

"Ok," he grimaced, "Need something for the pain now…come on Amelia. It's me. Please…"

"I am not Amelia Pond, I am a voice interface," it replied.

"Amelia, listen to me. I can be brave for Evy and for you. But you have got to tell me how."

"I am not Amelia Pond, I am a voice interface."

"Please…" he closed his eyes when he felt someone take his hand.

He blinked, seeing Evy beside him, squeezing his hands, "Fish fingers and custard," she breathed.

"What did you say?" he looked at her, stunned, before starting to laugh, "Fish fingers and custard?" and laughed some more, "Oh, yes!" he pushed himself up, managing to stifle his pain not just for himself but also for her, helping her up as well, "Fish fingers and custard!" with those words she had reminded him of the girl running about Berlin trying to find her daughter, the little family just outside the box who needed them, his own family who needed him. He would ignore it as best he could, because if he could then Evy wouldn't be in pain just yet, and they could both focus on helping Melody, who else might know how to stop the poison but the poisoner?

"Fish," he grabbed the console, "Fingers," and pulled himself the rest of the way up with Evy helping him as well, "And…" and grabbed a lever, "Custard!" and pulled it down.

~8~

Amy stood behind Melody, her stance rigid, face expressionless, clearly _not_ Amy, though Melody didn't notice, far too focused on looking at her outfits in the mirror before her, "I might take the age down a little," she commented, trying on a jacket, "Just gradually, to freak people out."

"You killed the Doctor," 'Amy' stated, "And, by extension, are killing Evy."

"Oh, yes I know dear. I hope you're not going to keep on about it," she put on a hat, "Oh, regeneration. It's a whole new coloring to work with," only to take it off and primp her hair.

'Amy' moved to stand before the mirror, looking at her, "You killed the Doctor on the orders of the movement known as the Silence and Academy of the Question. You accept and know this to be true?"

"Quite honestly I don't really remember. It was all a bit of a jumble…" 'Amy' suddenly shoved the mirror away and opened her mouth, firing a beam of white-blue light at Melody. She stumbled back, in pain, "No! Get off me!"

"Sorry," someone called out. 'Amy' stopped and turned around as Melody looked up, stunned, to see the Doctor leaning against the corner of the TARDIS, dressed in a black suit with tails, top hat, and cane, while Evy stood beside him wearing her average clothes, she had refused to dress up, feeling that she already was dressed in tents, she didn't need an actual tent-dress to remind her of it, "Did you say she killed the Doctor? _The_ Doctor?" he looked at them, "Doctor who?"

Evy sighed, "That joke is _really_ getting old."

~8~

"You said he was _dying_!" the captain shouted at the young woman.

"He _is_!"

The young man stepped through the door to the control room, Amy and Rory behind him as they had been shrunken down and beamed aboard, "When you're done here your memories will be wiped. And you'll be able to…"

"Doctor!" Amy gasped, seeing him and Evy on the monitor, "Evy!"

~8~

"You're dying…and you stopped to _change_?" Melody gaped at him.

He simply turned and played with his cane, making his way towards her with Evy, "Oh you should always waste time when you don't have any. Time is not the boss of you."

"Rule 408," Evy recited.

The Doctor beamed and turned to 'Amy,' "Amelia Pond, judgment death machine. Why am I not surprised?" he opened the top of his cane to reveal his sonic screwdriver within, "Sonic cane."

"Are you serious?" Melody eyed him.

"Never knowingly. Never knowingly be serious."

"And Rule 27," Evy nodded, glancing at Melody, "You should _really_ write these down."

The Doctor looked at his cane and then the 'Amy,' allowing the information to trickle over to Evy, who was standing near Melody, keeping an eye on both her and 'Amy,' "Oh, it's a robot! With 423 life signs inside. A robot worked by tiny people," he looked back at Melody and Evy, "Love it," then back to the robot, "But how did you all get in there though? Bigger on the inside?" he looked at his cane, "No…basic miniaturization sustained by compression field. Oh, watch what you eat, it'll get you every time..."

Evy sighed, knowing exactly where his latest ramble would lead, something about the Slitheen and such. She stepped forward, moving to his side, nudging him out of the way just a bit to look at the robot, "Rory...if you and Amy are in there and alright, have Amy signal the Doctor."

~8~

The crew of the robot looked over at Amy as she pulled out Evy's sonic and turned it on. The Doctor on the monitor checked his cane with Evy and smiled, "Thanking you."

"How'd you do that?" the captain asked her.

~8~

The Doctor suddenly cried out and grabbed his leg, falling to the floor, nearly collapsing, struggling to stand. Evy nearly fell as well, not having expected the sudden pain but grabbed the back of a chair and managed to hold herself up.

"I'm so sorry, leg went to sleep," the Doctor tried to play it off, "Just had a quick left leg power nap," he managed to stand, "I forgot I had one scheduled," he fell down onto some steps, moving to sit, "Actually, better sit down," he glanced at Evy to see she had collapsed onto the chair she'd been gripping, "I think I heard the right one yawning…"

Melody suddenly made a break for the doors and Amy-bot shot a beam at her again.

"Stop it!" Evy gasped, "Leave her alone!"

"Don't you touch her!" the Doctor agreed, "Do not harm her in anyway!"

The Amy-bot let Melody go but kept her in a containment field as it turned to the Doctor, "Why would you care, she's the woman who kills you."

He took off his top hat, "I'm not dead," and let it fall to the floor.

"You're dying."

"Well, at least I'm not a time travelling, shape shifting, robot operated by miniaturized cross people, which I have got to admit," he gave Evy a tired smile, "I _didn't_ see coming."

Evy looked over at Melody and then the Amy-bot, "What do you want her so badly?" she jerked a thumb at Melody.

"She's Melody Pond," the Amy-bot replied, "According to our records, the woman who kills the Doctor."

"And I'm the Doctor so what's it got to do with you?" he asked.

"Throughout history many criminals have gone unpunished throughout their lifetimes. Time travel has responsibilities."

The Doctor laughed, "What? You got yourselves time travel so you decided to punish dead people."

"We don't kill them, we extract them near the end of their established timelines."

"And then what?"

"Give them hell."

Evy tensed, eyeing the Amy-bot, "That's not responsibility! Just who do you think you are?"

"I think the answer is pretty obvious dear," the Doctor called, his gaze on the Amy-bot as well, "But here's another question...who do you think _I_ am? Huh?" he pointed his cane at Melody, "The woman who killed the Doctor. It sounds like you've got my biography in there, I'd love a peek."

"Our records office is sealed to the public," it replied, "Foreknowledge is dangerous."

"Yeah well, I'll be dead in three minutes, there isn't much foreknowledge left."

"And your Link?"

Evy swallowed hard, "In three minutes I'll be in my own personal hell," the Amy-bot looked at her, "Hardly think I'll be able to focus on reading anything."

The Amy-bot was silent a moment, before, "Sorry, can't do that."

~8~

Amy turned the captain around in his chair to stare him down, "That man and woman are my best friends, that other woman is my daughter. You give them anything they want."

"If she's family, she has privileges," the young man added.

The captain looked mildly annoyed before keying something into Amy's wrist device, the same one the rest of the crew wore to protect them from the Antibodies, the robotic jellyfish-like creatures that protected the robot, "Say 'access personal records, the Doctor.'"

Amy lifted her wrist and spoke into the device, "Access personal records, the Doctor."

~8~

"Records available," the Amy-bot stated.

The Doctor pushed himself to his feet using his cane, Evy doing the same with the chair and making her way over to him. The last few moments he'd been working on blocking the pain from her, it helped just a little as she was able to stand shakily and support herself until she could reach the Doctor and help him.

"Question...I'm dying," he looked at the Amy-bot, "Who wants me dead?"

"The Silence."

"What exactly is the Silence?" Evy asked the Amy-bot, she remembered the pale aliens, they called themselves the Silence but they never REALLY learned who or what they were, "Why are they called that? What does 'the Silence' even mean?"

"The Silence is not a species. It is a religious order or movement their core belief is that silence will fall when the question is asked."

"What question?" the Doctor frowned.

"The first question. The oldest question in the Universe. Hidden in plain sight."

"Yes but what _is_ the question?"

"Unknown."

"Oh, well," he rolled his eyes, "Fat lot of use that is you big ginge, call yourselves a record…AHH!" he fell to the floor, nearly taking Evy down with him though she too buckled from the sudden pain, her hand automatically went to her stomach, feeling the baby kicking as though sensing the pain of its parents, "Ahh," he grabbed his stomach as well, "Kidneys are always the first to quit…" he looked at Evy, recalling a few times he'd been poisoned before, "Oh, I've had better you know."

"I know," she told him gently, kissing his forehead.

~8~

"Ok, he's finished," the young woman reported.

"Oh my God," Amy turned to Rory and hugged him, unable to watch.

"Well then," the captain replied, stoic, "Let's do what we do. Give her hell."

Rory closed his eyes, the idea that River Song was his daughter seemed unreal to him, he almost viewed her as a different person, a murderer he recalled, apparently the Doctor's murderer, and he couldn't help but wonder…even as his daughter, did she deserve the hell? And he found, he couldn't answer.

~8~

The force field around Melody turned red and she screeched in pain, unimaginable, unendurable pain, a familiar pain to Evy.

"Amy!" Evy shouted, "Rory! Can you hear me?"

~8~

Amy looked up, "Yeah?"

The captain handed her his microphone, "You can talk to them."

Amy took it quickly.

~8~

"What do we do?" the Amy-bot asked for her, "This is me, this is me actually talking, what do we do?"

"You need to _stop_ them," Evy said, tears in her eyes as the Doctor grabbed her hand tightly, both in his own pain and recalling the pain she too was thinking of as they watched Melody.

"She's your daughter," the Doctor agreed, "Just _stop_ them."

"How?" Amy asked, "How?!"

"Just do it!"

~8~

Rory frowned, watching Amy pull out Evy's sonic, "What are you doing?"

"Pointing and thinking, just get ready to run," she aimed the sonic at her wrist and short-circuited the device, turning the green light on it to red. Almost immediately the Antibodies started to rise.

"You are unauthorized," the robotic invertebrates stated, "Your death will now be implemented."

"Ok captain, release her now or I take down the whole Teselecta."

"Amy…" Rory began warningly.

"You can't," the captain nearly rolled his eyes.

Amy leaned forward menacingly, " _They_ can," and soniced the room, turning all the wrist devices off, "Rory go!" she turned and pushed him towards a lift.

"All privileges withdrawn," an Antibody stated.

"What have you done?" the young man shouted.

"All life forms prepare for immediate decease. You will experience a tingling sensation and then death…"

The lift closed and Amy and Rory were off.

~8~

Evy breathed a sigh of relief as the red field disappeared, releasing Melody.

"Please…" the Doctor called to her weakly, the pain now replaced with just overall weakness as his body shut down, "Now we have to save your parents. Don't run. Now I know you're scared, but never run when you're scared."

Evy gave a soft laugh, "Rule 7," before she too looked at Melody, "Please Melody…"

~8~

Amy stopped running in a corridor and looked around as it was suddenly empty, "Where did everyone go?"

"How can they just disappear?" Rory frowned, trying to find the crew.

Suddenly the Antibodies started to approach. Amy looked down at the comm. still in her hand and quickly called out, "Evy can you hear us? Doctor! Evy, Doctor help us!" they backed away, "Doctor help us! Evy please!"

~8~

The Doctor was lying, unconscious, with his head in Evy's lap as the woman stoked his hair, neither able to do much of anything to help. She couldn't pilot the TARDIS effectively enough in her condition by herself, she didn't want to leave the Doctor, and Amy and Rory were trapped, not to mention Melody was just sitting there, watching them, waiting for the Doctor to die…

The Doctor slowly blinked awake, hearing the Amy-bot calling for help. He looked at Evy a moment, brushing a piece of hair from her face weakly, before grunting as he moved to try and get up, Evy helping as best she could, though she was unable to support his weight as she once would have, being scarcely able to support him and her size at once. He kept slipping from her grip, stumbling towards the ground.

"Doctor!" the Amy-bot shouted, "Evy help!"

Melody's eyes widened as she watched them both, "Look at you," Melody remarked, "You still care."

"Evy help. Doctor help us! Please help us!"

"It's impressive, I'll give you that."

"River please…" the Doctor breathed.

"Again!" Melody rolled her eyes and got up, "Who is this River? She's got to be a woman. Am I right?"

"Help us," Evy called, tears in her eyes, praying that Melody might listen to her. It was clear, as it had been earlier, that Amy told more stories of the Doctor than Evy, him being more prominent in her mind as a child. Melody, along with her training's influence, seemed to have developed more of a goal at eliminating him than her first, there was hope that she just might listen to the Time Lady if not the Time Lord, "Save Amy and Rory. If you won't help us, then help _them_!"

"Tell me about her. Go on."

"OH! JUST…" the Doctor snapped before squeezing Evy's hand, "Help us…"

~8~

Amy and Rory stood before the eye of the robot, when the Antibodies appeared around them, "You are unauthorized," they turned to face them, "Your death will now be implemented," electricity appeared around prods sticking out from the tentacles.

"I love you," Amy told Rory softly.

"I love you too," he pulled her into a tight hug...when a wheezing noise sounded.

They looked up, stunned, as the TARDIS appeared around them, "Doctor?" Amy called, looking around, "Evy? You did it. They did it!" they started to laugh, but stopped when Melody stepped out from behind the console.

"I seem to be able to fly her," she said softly, "Evy…she projected the instructions into my head…she showed me how…she taught me even when I…" she swallowed, an inkling of guilt seeping into her, "The Doctor said I should already know how to fly her, as a child of the TARDIS…" she looked up at the rotor, the instructions had just been how to get to Amy and Rory and back...but once she started, she actually began to _understand_ what she was doing, what the box could do, the methods and explanations behind it, "What does he mean?"

"Where is he?" Amy demanded, "Where are they?"

~8~

Amy and Rory knelt by the Doctor, Amy on one side, Rory on the other with a supportive arm around Evy as she cried beside him, her hand on her stomach, "You can't die now," Amy whispered to him, "I _know_ you don't die now."

"Oh Pond, you've got a schedule for everything," he remarked.

"But it doesn't make any sense!"

"Doctor, what do we do?" Rory asked him, before looking at Evy, "Come on. How do we help him?" he knew, somehow, if anyone could find an impossible way to for the man to make it, it would be Evy.

"No," the Doctor cut in as Evy closed her eyes in agony, "I'm sorry Rory, you can't," he reached out and took Evy's hand, holding it, "Nobody can. Ponds listen to me, we need to talk to your daughter," Amy and Rory nodded and slowly got up, moving back to allow Melody to step over, kneeling where Amy had been.

Evy reached over and took Melody's hand, "We need you to do one thing more. Find River Song…"

"And tell her something from me," the Doctor added.

"Tell her what?" Melody frowned.

The Doctor tugged her down, "She's a bad girl…" he whispered to her.

Melody laughed lightly at that as she pulled away, "Well, I'm sure she knows that…"

The Doctor gave a small smile and looked at Evy, squeezing her hand, "I love you."

She smiled at him, "I love you too…" she swallowed hard as his sighed at the words, slowly his eyes closed…

And a moment later…

Evy screamed.

Amy, Rory, and Melody nearly fell to the ground at the horrible, gut wrenching, agonizing, crippling pain that shot through their hearts. It lasted only a moment before it disappeared, "What the _hell_ was that?" Rory gasped, rubbing his chest.

"Evy!" Amy shouted, scrambling to the woman's side as she hunched over grabbing her stomach, trembling. And then Rory realized, Evy had momentarily projected _exactly_ what she was feeling as the Doctor died…and if that was only a single moment of her pain, he couldn't imagine what it was like now.

"No…" Evy trembled as Amy enveloped her in a hug, "No please, not again, not again," Rory rushed to her side as well, hugging her tightly. Evy let out a strangled groan and hunched over more, letting out such a terrible noise that Rory quickly knew it meant something else was terribly wrong.

He leaned forward, his eyes widened as he saw something starting to stain Evy's pants, "Evy you're bleeding!"

Evy gasped, her hands hugging her stomach as she all but collapsed to the ground, "No, not the baby…please…"

Rory quickly moved her to her side, just barely nudging her leg to the side to see she was bleeding from a _very bad_ place. While he hadn't specialized in children's health or expecting mothers, he knew what that meant, Evy was in dangerous chance of miscarrying right now.

"Evy what's happening?" he asked her, not knowing what had brought this about.

"I can't…I can't…" she shook her head, tears streaming from her face though she refused to open her eyes. She couldn't do it, she couldn't see the Doctor lying dead before her. She felt it, he was gone...

"Evy," Rory leaned forward and cupped her face, "Evy look at me," she opened her eyes and he wished she hadn't. There was such a haunted, pained look in them, like everything had just _shattered_ inside her, "I need to know what's happening to help you."

"Premature severing of the paternal psychic link," she managed to grind out, now feeling the baby's pain along with hers, she could feel it twisting and thrashing inside her, suffering from the sudden loss of its father. Such a severe disconnect from its parents was physically painful, and could be devastating, for the child, "Babies depend on mothers for physical care, but their fathers for mental strength to lose even one…I…I can't…I'm not strong enough…"

And that was the last coherent thought she was able to get out. Rory put a hand to her stomach, literally able to feel the baby in distress.

"Rory what do we do?" Amy looked at Rory, completely horrified by what was happening, not only was she seeing Evy as she had been during the Dream Lord, but also seeing one of her best friends dying and her other best friend basically being tortured and in danger of losing her baby…she'd experienced that, never would she wish that on _anyone_ , "Rory!"

"I…I don't know," he shook his head, "We need to help the Doctor…"

"River," Amy looked at Melody, "River, _please_ what do we do? How do we stop the poison?"

Melody blinked, a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach at seeing Amy calling her River as well, "Who's River Song?"

Amy nearly screamed in frustration, she could see the reluctance in her daughter's face, so she turned to the Amy-bot, "Access files on River Song."

"Records available," it stated.

"Show us her. Show us River Song."

Melody watched in mounting horror as the Amy-bot turned into a slightly younger version of herself, true to her word, having taken the age down a bit. She looked quickly between the prone Doctor, the River/Melody-bot, and the mess that was Evy.

"I…I don't…" Melody shook her head, swallowing hard, "There's no cure."

"Then what do we do?" Amy demanded, "We _have to_ save them!"

Melody turned one more look at Evy clutching her stomach, the child within her womb struggling to survive as its father died and mother suffered. Then to her parents, who had struggled this same fight resulting in her…she looked at her hands as they began to glow, it seemed her heart had made the choice before her mind had.

"What's happening?" Amy gasped as she and Rory tried their best to comfort Evy, "River, what are you doing?"

Melody slowly walked towards the Doctor, "Just tell me, the Doctor, Evy…are they worth it?"

"Yes! Yes, mhmm."

"They are," Rory nodded.

Melody smiled and put her hands on the Doctor's chest, allowing her regeneration energy to seep into him, bringing him back. Evy gasped as the Doctor opened his eyes, "River…no…what are you doing?"

"Sorry sweetie," she laughed, letting the energy release in its entirety.

~8~

"Hey…" Amy breathed as she looked at Melody, slowly waking up, "Hey…"

She blinked, wincing at the brightness of the white room, "Where am I?"

"You're safe now. Apparently you used all your remaining regenerations in one go. You shouldn't have done that."

"Mother…I had to try…"

"I know."

"He said no one could save him. But he must have known I could."

"Rule one," Rory commented, recalling what River herself had said about the Doctor during the Pandorica incident, "The Doctor lies."

Melody frowned, shifting a bit, trying to see where the Doctor and Evy were only for Rory to turn and look to his left. Melody winced, her body aching in protest, but she moved anyway.

There, on the bed beside her own and facing her, was the Doctor, lying on his side, his jacket off, his arms firmly around Evy, who lay in a white hospital gown before him, spooned to his front, both their hands resting on her large stomach as they slept on, emotionally worn from the stress of the day. They were both pale, their faces, even in sleep, contorted in the remnants of the pain they'd both experienced, the fear.

It had been so close, so _very_ close, but with Rory carrying Evy and Amy helping River in, the Doctor staggering after them, they managed to get them all to the hospital in time…the doctors there had just barely managed to stop the miscarriage, saving their baby who was still too early to be removed from Evy. But the damage seemed to be done, the baby was fine, but the parents…to come that close to losing their child…the Doctor hadn't left Evy's side, not even during her time in the operating room, barking at the doctors on what medicines they could and couldn't use. And when Evy had been released, they could see it in his eyes, if they thought he'd been careful during their first few adventures, putting the TARDIS on silent and invisible, it would be _nothing_ compared to what was coming, and for some reason…they couldn't help but think Evy would kill him.

~8~

Evy stood by Melody's bedside, the Doctor still beside her, having not let go of her since they'd gotten there. But that was fine with her, she and the baby needed the reassurance of his presence more than they were willing to admit. As soon as he'd come back to life, the psychic link had snapped into place and the baby had calmed, but there was still danger, there was still fear that something had happened during the duress, but according to the doctors and other tests, the child was fine. They could only hope that would last, Time Lords...they were consious from the moment of conception, fully aware while in the womb. Their child would remember this, the pain he or she had suffered. And they wouldn't know how it might be affected till after it had been born, while within the mother, the baby could not establish a telepathic connection to its parents as was common on Gallifrey, it was still to dependently connected to the mother physically. That moment would only come when it was a separate entity from its mother.

The nun-nurse assigned to the room smiled as she watched the small group gather around Melody, "She just needs to rest. She'll be absolutely fine."

"No," Evy shook her head, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the crisp new TARDIS journal she'd had since she arrived on Earth. This was the beginning of River Song, it was fitting she should have the journal now. She placed it on the bedside, "She'll be _amazing_."

~8~

"So that's it?" Amy asked as she and Rory followed the Doctor and Evy into the TARDIS, Evy was grumbling something about wheelchairs under her breath. She'd insisted she could walk out of the hospital, but then the Doctor had actually taken the _doctors'_ side over _hers_ and insisted she listen to them and take the wheelchair, and she'd had to use one to the TARDIS, "We just leave her there?"

"Sisters of the Infinite Schism," the Doctor replied, leaning on the side of the console as Evy stood beside him, checking the monitor, his hand gently rubbing circles on her stomach, smiling a bit as he felt their child kicking again, perfectly fine once more, "Greatest hospital in the Universe."

"Yeah, but, she's our daughter. Doctor, she's River, _and_ she's our daughter."

"Amy I know, but we have to let her make her own way now. We have too much foreknowledge," he glanced at the monitor, where his death date, time, and location, was displayed for him and Evy to see.

"And that can be _very_ dangerous," Evy whispered, her hand on top of the Doctor's on her stomach.

"What's that?" Amy tried to peek.

"Nothing!" the Doctor flicked it off.

"Just some information I hacked into the Teselecta for," Evy told her.

"Very boring."

"Doctor, River was brainwashed to kill you right…" Rory began slowly.

"Well she _did_ kill me," he frowned, thinking on that. It was a rather clever plot by the Silence. With the Link, they only needed to take out one of the pair to, for all intents and purposes, kill the other. Targeting him meant that, should he die, Evy would eventually follow, killing two birds with one stone. He was the greater threat in their eyes, they wanted to ensure he was _dead_ and not just tortured. He shook his head, "And then she used her remaining lives to bring me back…"

"But…that stuff that they put in her head, is that gone now? The River that we know in the future, she's in prison, for _murder_."

"Whose murder?" Amy asked, but the Doctor just smiled and dashed around the console.

"Oi!" Evy called after him, "I can't exactly run that fast anymore you know!"

He laughed at her as Amy smiled, "Will we see her again?"

"Oh, she'll find us again one day," Evy said as the Doctor dashed up the stairs, stopping to hold a hand out to her, waiting as she walked up to him.

"Yeah but how? How do people even _look_ for you?"

"Oh, Pond," the Doctor sighed, "Haven't you figured that one out yet?"

He squeezed Evy's hand and they headed off to their room. As soon as the door was shut behind them Evy found herself being pulled into a very deep kiss that left her breathless minutes later when they pulled apart. And then the Doctor was on his knees, kissing her stomach gently, before hugging her round the middle, resting his head against it.

"What is it?" Evy asked him, running her fingers through his hair.

He was silent a moment before he quietly stated, "I don't think I can forgive her."

Evy frowned, "Who?"

"River," he turned his head, resting his forehead against her stomach, "We nearly lost our child because of her…I…I don't…I can't…"

He started to shake gently, near tears, and Evy pried his arms from around her, taking a few extra moments to kneel before him as well, "What was it you said to Rory and Amy about the psychic pollen not affecting me?"

He frowned, puzzled by her change in topic, "I said…you always just know how to make things right, finding the good in the bad…" he sighed a bit in thought with a smile on his face, "That you were my own personal moon, lighting up the darkness."

She smiled, moving to rest her forehead against his, "Well then, be prepared for some illumination."

"What?" he laughed a bit, pulling back to look at her.

"Do you want to know what this whole thing with River tells me?"

"What?" he breathed, this time more serious.

She just took his hand and placed it on her stomach once more, letting him feel the baby kick eagerly against it, "Our child loves you as much as I do, and neither of us want to be without you."

He sucked in a breath at that, not having thought about it like that before. He blinked, smiling as tears came to his eyes before pulling her into another very deep kiss, very much like the one that had first led them to create the joy growing within Evy…

~8~

River Song sat before a desk of the Luna University, in the year 5123, glancing up at the Earth through the domed glass ceiling before turning her attention to the old man walking towards her, "So then, tell me, why do you want to study archaeology?"

She smiled, "Well to be perfectly honest professor, I'm looking for a good man and a rather impossible woman," she held the diary tightly in her hands.

The man chuckled, "Aren't we all," he looked down at the papers in his hands, "Well, everything seems to be in order. Welcome to Luna University Miss Song..."

"River," she corrected quickly, "Just River's fine."

The man nodded and stood, looking around the room before calling out, "Oi! You there," River looked over her shoulder as a young man looked up from where he was organizing files to point at himself, "Yes you," the man laughed, "Would you be so kind as to show Miss...River," he corrected, "Around our fine establishment?"

The young man nodded as River stood, smiling, clutching the diary, ready to begin her studies.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to add a little more to River's beginning in the University. I wanted to put that line in about her name, to show this is where she started as River Song. Lol, she's starting to sound a little like Evy isn't she? Not liking formalities and such. And this thought that a child can remember events even while in the womb will be come up again sometime in Series 7, but I'm not saying in what context :)
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor is a bit paranoid. Will Evy meet George or the wooden dollies? The toaster from 1969...pops up...again :)


	13. Night Terrors (Part 1)

The Doctor ran around the controls of the TARDIS, stopping by Evy's side as he gave her a peck on the cheek, before dashing off again. He'd assigned her to only one panel of the hexagon shaped console, despite the fact she could, in fact, reach a few of the controls on the other panels, while he ran around to the other five himself. He refused to allow her to even stretch for a control. She was vaguely starting to get irritated. Ever since they'd encountered River Song in Nazi Germany he'd been nearly suffocating. He was so paranoid that something would hurt her or that she'd overexert herself doing something or whatnot. In all actuality, he would have been ecstatic if she laid in bed all day on bed rest till their child was born, but…he knew THAT would truly be pushing her too far. As he'd heard her reason in his mind over the years, how could she not be as enthusiastic and curious as him after having him in her head for centuries?

Instead, he'd taken it upon himself to just be there for her if she should need anything or need help doing something, not that he thought she wasn't capable of it on her own, he just didn't want her to _have_ to do it on her own. He was her Link, it was his job to take care of her.

What was truly shocking to Amy and Rory, who had been expecting such a reaction from him, was the fact that Evy wasn't outright complaining. Amy had asked her once and she'd given two reasons for not smacking the Doctor into next Tuesday for what he was doing. The first was that she _had_ asked him to be more careful during their adventures so it wouldn't be fair if she wasn't just as careful. And if he took that to mean being careful with her as well…well, she would accept that. And the second was that she was honestly just touched that he was going to such lengths to ensure she was alright, it…made her feel safe and loved…and she wasn't sure if it was the hormones that made her feel so, but whatever it was, they were all thankful for it because no one needed a pregnant terror trying to kill all.

Evy put a hand to her chest when she felt something sting her and looked up to see the Doctor whip out the psychic paper as though burned by it, "'Please save me from the monsters,'" he read, walking over to Evy to show her it.

It was actually something he'd insisted on doing recently, allowing her to pick which adventures to go on and which to avoid. He knew that she knew what she could handle much better than he did and if _she_ thought a trip safe enough for her _and_ the child, then it was ok in his book. That was something that nearly gave Amy a heart attack when she found out. She thought just putting the TARDIS on silent was something, but to have the Doctor _willingly_ give up certain adventures (few though they were) was another thing.

Evy looked at it a moment, before nodding and handing it back to him, pushing a lever up, "It's been ages since we've done this," she remarked.

"Done what?" Amy looked up from where she and Rory were standing, "What're you doing?"

"Making a house call!" the Doctor cheered, running to the other side of the console and helping land the TARDIS, of course with the wheezing.

Rory stepped out of the TARDIS first, having determined he was the best shot at quickly assessing a situation and reacting logically. Whether it was the 2,000 years as a centurion or all their travels, he wasn't sure, but he was able to handle the dangers much better than he had been. And he'd promised himself he was going to help take care of Evy in her current situation. When he'd found out about the Doctor and Evy's agreements in terms of adventures, he was all too willing to be the first to step out of the TARDIS and into whatever awaited them. Whether it was dangerous or peaceful, he was not about to let Evy step out into the unknown. He'd failed to protect his pregnant wife, he was _not_ going to fail to protect his pregnant friend. Both he and Amy had agreed to do what they could for the couple after dealing with River in Germany, seeing how close Evy and the Doctor had come to losing their child...they'd experienced it in a way, they didn't want anyone to suffer that fate.

Amy waited and when Rory didn't immediately step back in she assumed there was little to worry about and followed her husband out, only to see they were standing in a back alley, at night, across from an apartment complex.

"No offense, Doctor..." Rory called.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, holding the door open for Evy, "Meaning the opposite."

"...but we could get a bus somewhere like this."

"The _exact_ opposite," Evy laughed, shutting the TARDIS door.

"Well, I suppose it can't all be planets and history and stuff, Rory," Amy shrugged.

"Yes, it can!" the Doctor defended, "Course it can! Planets and history and stuff. That's what we do!"

"Just not right now," Evy added, "No," she pulled out her sonic and started to scan the area as they walked towards the courtyard of the Council Estate.

The Doctor nodded, "Today, we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the Universe, a child's bedroom."

Evy flipped her sonic and put it back in its little holster as they reached the lift up to the apartments, the Doctor pushing the button before taking the paper out once more to check that the message was still there.

"'Please save me from the monsters,'" Rory read over his shoulder, "Who sent that?"

He closed the wallet and tapped Rory on the head with it, "That's what we're here to find out," he replied, putting it away.

"Sounds like something a kid would say," Amy remarked.

"Exactly," he nodded, taking Evy's hand as he thought on Amy's words, "A scared kid. A very scared kid…so scared that, somehow, its cry for help got through to us. In the TARDIS," he trailed off, unable to hide his discontent with that fact, no child should _ever_ be that afraid. He felt Evy move his hand from holding hers to placing it on her stomach. He smiled softly feeling their baby kicking happily within her. No, their child would never be that frightened, not while he was alive to protect it.

"Yeah, but you've traced it here?" Amy asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Right here," Evy nodded, "More specifically," she looked up, "Somewhere up there."

The lift arrived with a ding, "Ah!" the Doctor grinned, "Going up," he put his hand back in Evy's and stepped inside with her, wrapping his arms around her as she stood against him with the excuse that he was making room for Amy and Rory due to her newly expanded size…which earned him a smack on the back of the head, courtesy of Amy this time.

~8~

The Doctor and Evy looked around at the different flats and their identical exteriors. That was another difference in their usual methods. While it wasn't often that the Doctor and Evy would split up, they were typically alright with being separated for adventures and investigative purposes. However, the Doctor rarely ever let Evy out of his sight now, not that she was complaining…he was a very nice sight himself…

She glanced at him quickly so see him grinning at her and rolled her eyes. It seemed she had even less control with filtering her thoughts than before, though she did have quite a few more things on her mind recently.

' _The feeling is mutual,_ ' he whispered to her mind, placing a mental kiss with it.

She blushed at that, still slightly insecure about her new size. He just laughed and squeezed her hand as they walked over to one of the doors on the floor and knocked on it, "Hello!" the Doctor greeted jovially as the door opened to reveal an old woman. Evy frowned, scrunching her face as she quickly projected her thoughts, checking in on Amy and Rory, both of them dealing with their own residents on other floors, Amy with a mother and two creepy twin girls and Rory with the landlord.

"Is it about the bins?" the old woman asked, pulling her back to the present.

"Pardon?"

"The bins. I can't be expected to get down all them stairs. I need new knees."

"No, not the bins Miss…"

"Mrs. Rossiter," she stressed the 'Mrs.,' "I've already got a new hip. I'll be able to manage when I get the knees. Up and down them stairs like Sherpa Tensing then."

"Couldn't you just take the lift?" Evy shook her head.

"Can we come in?" the Doctor cut in as the old woman turned to glare at Evy.

"Course not!" Mrs. Rossiter took a step back, "You could be anyone!"

"Could be, but we're not," he grinned, "I'm the Doctor!"

Evy shook her head silently at him, that would not help.

And indeed it didn't, as Mrs. Rossiter slammed the door on them.

The Doctor blinked and looked at Evy, "That went better than the last one."

She had to agree there. They'd investigated every room on this floor and half of them had been far less polite than Mrs. Rossiter, "Come on," she tugged his arm, starting off down the hall, "We should check in with Amy and Rory, see if they've had better luck."

He nodded and they silently walked back, spotting Amy and Rory walking down the hall a floor or two below them. Evy paused and the Doctor looked over, seeing her frowning, and followed her gaze. There was a little boy peering out his window at Amy and Rory as they passed, ducking back in, scared, before looking out once more. She looked at the Doctor who nodded, that had to be the child.

They headed for the stairs, getting down to Amy's level just as she and Rory met them by the lift, "Hey!" Amy greeted, "Any luck?"

"We just met three old ladies, a traffic warden from Croatia, and a man with ten cats," Evy remarked dryly, as though the answer should have been obvious.

"What are we actually looking for?" Rory frowned.

"Ten cats!" the Doctor emphasized.

"A scared child Rory," Evy reminded him.

"I found scary children," Amy tried, "Does that count?"

"Hmm," the Doctor pretended to think on it, "Try the next floor down. Catch you later," he tapped Amy on the shoulder and pointed at Evy meaningfully. She rolled her eyes but nodded and he walked off, leaving her with Amy and Rory. He never let her out of his sight…unless HE was heading into something unknown and wanted make sure it was perfectly safe first. And since they didn't know what was scaring the boy that badly he wanted her to stay with Amy and Rory.

"Ok," Amy called after him as he headed off.

Evy turned and pushed the call button on the lift. Even though they knew where the boy was, they should still check and make sure no other children were being plagued as he was.

"Maybe it was, you know...junk mail," Rory mentioned as he leaned on the wall across from them.

"What?" Amy looked at him.

"The message on the psychic paper. Maybe it was just nothing."

Evy shook her head, "I took care of the spam mail filtering on the paper ages ago," she told him, "I'm very good at making apps apparently."

The lift arrived and they all got in, Amy pushing the button.

The lift doors closed and suddenly the lift dropped.

"Brace yourselves!" Evy yelled as they pressed themselves against the sides of the lift.

~8~

"Evy!" the Doctor shouted, tuning and running back to the lift. He pulled out the sonic and quickly flashed it. The doors opened but no one was there, ' _EVY!_ '

' _Ow!_ ' Evy called back, he winced realizing just how loudly he'd shouted to her.

' _What happened?_ ' he pressed a hand to his racing hearts, ' _Are you alright?_ '

' _I'm fine. We're both fine. Amy and Rory seem to be knocked out though…_ '

' _Where are you?_ '

' _It's dark…looks sort of like an abandoned mansion…hold on…_ '

' _What?_ '

' _Everything's made of wood. There's a table with food on it, but it's all wood, even the turkey. I'd wager we're trapped in some sort of dollhouse or something like it._ '

' _A dollhouse?_ '

' _That's as good of a guess as I can muster without exploring more and I doubt you want me to go out on my own._ '

' _Wait for Amy and Rory to wake up,_ ' he nodded to himself. He rubbed his forehead, knowing she had no way out of wherever she was, the Vortex Manipulator she'd made had been fried when they'd saved Sarah Jane and Jo from the Shansheeth. And with all their running about, worrying for the baby and the Silence and finding Melody...she hadn't gotten around to fixing it or making another one, ' _Let me know what happens. I'll try and find out where you are, get the TARDIS to track you and…_ '

' _No,_ ' she cut in, ' _Help the boy first. Amy, Rory, and I will be fine. For all we know, this might all be connected to whatever's scaring him. Find that out and you may find us._ '

He sighed, not liking the fact that she might be in danger without him there.

' _Theta,_ ' she called, sending him reassurance, ' _I'm YOUR Link. I'm just as resilient as you, if not more so now that I've got a bit of you inside me._ '

He couldn't help but smile at that, ' _Alright. Be safe._ '

' _You as well. I'll keep in touch._ '

' _Me too,_ ' he promised before he turned to head back to the flat. He quickly knocked on the door beside the window the child had been looking out of. A moment later the door opened and a man stood there with short black hair and stubble.

He held up the psychic paper and the man squinted at it, "Oh. Right. That was quick."

"Was it?" the Doctor asked, slightly amused.

"Claire said she'd phoned someone. Social Services."

"Yes," he realized, looking at the psychic paper, Dr. John Smith, Child Services, Psychology Department, "Yes!"

' _What is it?_ ' Evy asked, sensing just a hint of sadness from him.

He glanced at the paper before putting it away, ' _You still go by Evelyn Daniels._ '

' _Yes…and?_ '

' _We need to do something about that._ '

' _About what?_ '

' _You're my Link,_ ' he replied matter-of-factly, ' _Technically my wife, at least according to the Universe, so you should really go by Evelyn Smith now, or Smith-Daniels, or Daniels-Smith, or Smith nee Daniels, or…_ '

She laughed in his head, ' _I get it,_ ' he started to smile, ' _BUT…_ ' he frowned, ' _Technically, here on Earth, we're not married._ '

He pouted, ' _Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?_ '

He could feel her shake her head in his mind before he realized the boy's father had been speaking to him all that time and he'd not heard a word he said, "…but it's not, easy, you know...admitting your kid's got a problem."

The Doctor nodded quickly, not wanting to give away his inattentiveness, "You've got a problem. I've got a problem. I bet they're connected, I'm the Doctor. Call me Doctor. What can I call you?"

"Alex," he replied, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Hello, Alex," the Doctor greeted before he stepped inside, "So..." he turned to face the man, "Tell me about George," he glanced back at a small drawn sign, like one a child would make, that said 'George's Room.'

Alex shut the door behind him.

~8~

The Doctor sat on the sofa, staring at a photo album on his lap as Alex spoke, explaining the situation, "Ever since he was born he's been a funny kid."

"Funny's good!" the Doctor beamed, ' _We like funny, don't we?_ '

' _Unfortunately,_ ' Evy joked to him silently.

"He never cries," Alex continued, "Bottles it all up, I suppose. Tell him off, he just looks at you."

"How old is he?"

"He was eight in January. He should be growing out of stuff like this, shouldn't he?"

"Maybe," the Doctor closed the album and put it down, "It's got worse though, lately?"

"Yeah. We talked about getting help. You know, maybe sending him somewhere. He started getting these nervous tics, you know, funny little cough. Blinking all the time. But now it's got completely out of hand," he stood up from where he'd been sitting on a chair, "I mean he's scared to death of everything."

"Pantophobia."

"What?"

"That's what it's called. Pantophobia. Not a fear of pants though, if that's what you're thinking. It's a fear of everything, including pants, I suppose, in that case. Sorry. Go on."

"He hates clowns."

"Understandable."

"Old toys. He thinks the old lady across the way is a witch. He hates having a bath in case there's something under the water. The lift sounds like someone breathing!" he sighed, "Look, I don't know," he sat down on the edge of the coffee table, "I'm not an expert. Maybe you can get through to him."

The Doctor smiled, "I'll do my best."

' _Me too,_ ' Evy offered before he felt her getting distracted.

' _What is it?_ '

' _Amy and Rory are waking up._ '

~8~

Evy sat on a small chair by the dining room table, watching as Rory slowly came around, squinting in the darkness, the only light coming from the windows. He looked over and saw her before sitting up quickly, "Amy? Amy! Where is she?"

"Right there," Evy nodded to where Amy was laying on her side, using her sonic as a torch for him to see her.

"Yeah," Amy groaned, pushing herself up, "Here."

"You ok?" he switched on a small pen light to add more light and looked between Amy and Evy, checking on them. Because the Doctor would _kill_ him if Evy came back with so much as a scratch.

"Yeah, I think so," Amy squinted.

"I'm fine," Evy nodded, resting a hand on her stomach, "We both are."

"What happened to the lift?" Rory asked, looking around for it, "We were in a lift, weren't we?"

"Yeah, yeah," Amy nodded, "We…I remember getting in and then..." Rory groaned and she looked at him, "What?"

"We're dead, aren't we?" Rory asked, looking at Evy.

"Eh?"

"The lift fell and we're dead."

"Shut up."

"We're dead...again!"

"Oh, shut up!"

Evy laughed, drawing them both out of their argument, "We're not dead Rory," she reassured him, standing up, "But…I'm not exactly sure where we are, so we may have to look around a bit."

Rory sighed and got up, reaching out to help Amy up as well. They cautiously walked out of the dining room and into a hall, "You know it's obvious what's happened," Rory remarked.

"Yeah?" Amy looked over at him, "Really? Because it's not obvious to me."

"Nor me," Evy added.

"The TARDIS has gone funny again," Rory shrugged as though it were simple, "Some time...slippy...thing. You know, the Doctor's back there in East Enders-land and we're stuck here in the past. This is probably 1700 and something."

"Yay!" Amy deadpanned, "My favorite year!"

Evy just shook her head, "Time's fine, the TARDIS is fine, and surprisingly the Doctor actually had nothing to do with it this time…and I'd say more 1600s than 1700s."

"Oh that makes it better," Rory rolled his eyes, "So basically we have no idea how we got here or how to get back. At least if it was something with time _you'd_ be able to figure out a way to reverse or fix whatever it was."

"The Doctor _can_ actually fix things you know," Evy looked at him.

They all exchanged a look.

And burst out laughing.

' _Oi!_ ' she heard the Doctor shout in her mind, ' _I heard that!_ '

' _The toaster in 1969,_ ' she reminded him, hearing him grumble in her mind, ' _I love you too dear._ '

~8~

The Doctor looked up suddenly when there was a crash from George's room. Alex ran in, "George? You ok? What's the matter?" and then spotted the lamp that had been knocked over on the ground. He sighed and moved to kneel, picking it up again, "Oh. Never mind. Were you having a nightmare son?"

"Wasn't a nightmare," George shook his head, "I wasn't asleep," he looked over at the Doctor who was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe, "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," he replied.

"A doctor?" George gasped, scared, "Have you come to take me away?"

"No, George, I just want to talk to you."

"What about?"

"About the monsters," he said, walking into the room.

~8~

Rory stepped into a small room before holding the door more open for Amy and Evy to follow. They glanced at the shelves and the walls, the kitchen it appeared based on the cooking utensils and the fireplace. There was also a long table with a pan and loaf of bread on it.

Amy looked at the utensils as she accidently knocked into them, "Bit neglected, wherever it is."

"Let's find the front door, at least," Rory sighed, "Then we can work out where we are. When we are."

"We're still in the present," Evy remarked as she looked around.

Rory frowned, "Really?" he looked at the rather Victorian area.

She nodded, "Yup," she held up a small pot from the table and banged it against the table, getting a dull thud.

Rory blinked, "But that's a copper pan."

"Wood," she corrected, "It's actually made of wood, it's just been painted to look like it's copper."

"That is stupid," he walked over and took the pot, knocking it himself before looking around at the room.

"Wait," Amy called from over by a counter, "Hang on," they looked over to see her inspecting a small lantern, "There's a switch," she pressed it and an electric light started up.

"Come on," Evy nodded at the draws, "There might be something useful in here."

Rory and Amy nodded and started rifling through the drawers. Amy jumped back from one with a gasp and they rushed over to see a large eyeball staring back at them.

Amy and Rory exchanged a look before she shook her head, "Oh no. No."

Evy rolled her eyes before flashing it with her sonic, saving Amy from having to touch it, "It's glass."

Rory let out a breath when his torch flickered on and off five times.

"Stop doing that," Amy hissed.

"I don't think it's him," Evy remarked, looking at her sonic as it flashed five times as well.

Rory nodded smugly at Amy as the ginger rolled her eyes, before taking her hand, "Come on."

"Hold on," Evy called, picking up the wooden pan, and giving them a reassuring smile as they walked through the door at the end of the room.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting at the foot of George's bed, fiddling with the Rubik's Cube, as Alex paced back and forth, "Maybe it was things on the telly, you know?"

"Right," the Doctor nodded, distracted.

"Scary stuff, getting under his skin, frightening him."

"Mhmm."

"So we stopped letting him watch."

"Oh, you don't want to do that," he gave George a small smile.

"Then Claire thought it might have been something he was reading."

"Great! Reading's great. You like stories George?" he looked at the little boy as he nodded eagerly, "Yeah? Me, too. When I was your age about, ooh...a thousand years ago, I loved a good bedtime story. 'The Three Little Sontarans.' 'The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes.' 'Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday,' eh? All the classics. Rubbish," he tossed the cube over his shoulder, "Must be broken. I hate those things. Can never seem to get them to work, Evy's brilliant at that though, she can make all sorts of patterns with them, get one color in the center and all…"

"Who's Evy?" George asked.

The Doctor grinned, "She's...my girl," his gaze got soft, "You know, she's going to have a baby soon too, I'll be a dad just like yours. Which reminds me, better tidy that away, eh?" he got up and took the cube from Alex who had scooped it up, "Evy's got a thing about tidiness," he told the man, "How about in here?" he walked towards the cupboard but stopped when George gasped, "No? Not in the cupboard? Why not in there, George?"

"It's a...thing," Alex explained, "A thing we got him doing ages back. Anything that frightens him, we put it in the cupboard. Creepy toys, scary pictures, that sort of thing."

"And is that where the monsters go? Yeah," he walked slowly towards the cupboard, "There's nothing to be scared of George. It's just a cupboard."

Just as the Doctor reached out to turn the latch, there was a loud knocking that startled them.

"Front door," Alex remarked, leaving the room to answer it.

~8~

The trio slowly walked down the hallway, Rory in the lead so as to 'protect the women' as he liked to think to himself, "Let's try down here," he nodded towards a corner.

They followed him on, missing the figure lurking in the hall behind them.

~8~

The Doctor looked out the door crack to see Alex talking to the landlord, both he and George waiting awkwardly in the boy's room for Alex to come back. The Doctor glanced at George, seeing him staring at the door intently, a slightly scared look on his face as he looked at the landlord. He walked over and pulled out his sonic, turning it on.

"Is that a torch?" George looked over at the funny noise.

"Screwdriver!" he corrected, hearing Evy giggle in his mind as he sat back on the bed, she'd already refused to let him make a toddler version of it for their child until it reached at least 50 years old because, according to her, any child of his would be a born trouble-maker and not even she knew what their child would get up to if given a sonic, "A sonic one. And other stuff."

"Please may I see the other stuff?"

"You may," he flashed the sonic on the toys and all the battery powered ones turned on, "Ah, pretty cool, eh?" he grinned, watching as George focused on the toys with awe, "That's better. No tears from George. That's what I've heard. Go on, give us a smile. There's a brave little soldier. Bit rusty at this, so this is good practice. Anyway, let's open this cupboard, eh?" he stood up and…

' _You'd better test it first!_ ' Evy shouted at him.

He winced and nodded, scanning the cupboard, "There's nothing to be..." he started to say to both George and Evy, when the sonic's pitch increased, "Off the scale," he breathed, falling back on the bed in shock, "Off the scale! How..." he reached out blindly and put a hand on George's shoulder, staring at the cupboard, alarmed.

"Right," Alex called, stepping back in, "Sorry about that. So, have we got this thing open yet?" he reached for the latch.

"No!" the Doctor jumped up and stopped him, "No! No, no, no! You don't want to do that!"

"Why?" Alex frowned.

"Because George's monsters are real."

~8~

Evy paused as they entered what looked like a foyer, the front door across from them and a staircase beside them. Amy glanced down at the scattered items on the floor while Rory moved to the front door with a grin, "Oh, at last," he breathed, before groaning.

"What is it?" Amy asked him.

"No doorknob?" Evy called, having gathered that much from a glance of the door.

Rory nodded, "Wooden pans, a massive glass eye, and now no doorknob!"

"And the gradfather clock," Evy added.

"What?" he looked over to see her eyeing a large grandfather clock.

"Oh yeah," Amy nodded, seeing what Evy had, "The hands, they're painted on."

Suddenly a child's laugh echoed through the room and they turned around quickly. Rory held a finger pressed to his lips as he headed towards the door the sound had come from, Amy and Evy following him.

~8~

The Doctor searched through Alex's kitchen while the man glared at him, "You're supposed to be a professional!"

The Doctor heard Evy snort in his mind, ' _I definitely prefer ancient amateur._ '

He grinned, ignoring Alex as he continued to rant, "I'll never get him to sleep now!" Alex shook his head as the Doctor found teacups, "It's so...irresponsible!"

"No, Alex," the Doctor turned to him, "Responsible. Very. Cupboard bad. Cupboard not bare. Stay away from cupboard. And there's something else. Something I've missed. Something staring me in the face."

' _As always,_ ' Evy remarked.

' _Well, you're not exactly here to help me spot it, are you?_ ' he countered, playfully sticking out a mental tongue to her.

"Look," Alex sighed, "I'd like you to leave, please. You're just making things worse. Will you stop making tea!" he grabbed the cups, "I want you to leave!"

The Doctor just took the cups back, "No," and opened the refrigerator door.

"What? What do you mean 'no?'" he shut the door, "Leave! Get out!" the Doctor just opened the door again and so Alex closed it, "Now, please! Look, maybe this was a bad idea. We should sort out George ourselves."

"You can't," the Doctor opened the door once more and took out the milk, pouring it into the cups.

"No one's going to tell us how to run our lives. I don't care who you are or what wheels have been set in motion. We'll sort it!"

"I'm not just a professional. I'm the Doctor."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The Doctor turned to face him, "It means I've come a long way to get here, Alex. A _very_ long way. With my Link, who now may or may not be in danger because George sent a message. A distress call, if you like. Whatever's inside that cupboard is so terrible, so powerful that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space. Through Crimson Stars and Silent Stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire. Through empires of glass and civilizations of pure thought and a whole, terrible, wonderful Universe of impossibilities. You see these eyes? They're old eyes. And one thing I can tell you Alex...monsters are real."

' _And there it goes again,_ ' Evy whispered though he could hear fondness in her words, ' _Kicking up a storm. I'm contemplating putting a limit on your epic speeches Theta._ '

' _Sorry love,_ ' he smiled back to her. He loved being there to feel his child kick inside her whenever he was 'being the hero' as she often said. He would never tell Evy but, sometimes, he purposely made epic speeches like that just to rouse their child to kick.

' _I heard that,_ ' she muttered.

' _Sorry,_ ' he repeated, though he could feel her smiling through their bond regardless.

"You're not from Social Services, are you?" Alex asked, bringing him back to the present.

"First things first. You got any Jammie Dodgers?"

And then he felt Evy face palm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter...Evy's powers make a reappearance. The Doctor feels the lack of Evy's presence. Evy makes a decision about the future of their child, if it's a girl at least.


	14. Night Terrors (Part 2)

"You hear that?" Amy asked as they followed the laughter.

"Yeah," Rory replied.

"Wait!" Evy pulled Amy back as she moved forward.

Amy looked up, hearing the laughter get louder, "They're getting closer!"

"They?" Rory shook his head, just _great_.

Amy pulled her arm away from Evy and nodded to the woman, cautiously walking to the door. Evy stepped up beside her, holding up the wooden pan, ready, as Amy threw open the door, only to see a large wooden doll standing there with a rather bulbous head.

"It's just…it's a dummy," Amy sighed in relief, "Oh, it's a dummy."

Evy frowned as she stared at it, something wasn't quite right about it.

"This is...weird," Rory remarked.

"Says the time travelling nurse," Amy grinned at her husband.

Rory reached forward about to tap the head of the doll when Evy grabbed his arm, "Better not," she said quietly, frowning at the doll. The worst thing was, she couldn't scan it with the sonic, it was wood.

Rory nodded and pulled his arm away as Amy tugged him, "Let's just...leave that for now. Come on," she nodded back and they turned, walking off, looking for a way out, as the doll turned its head to watch them go.

~8~

The Doctor sat on a sofa in the sitting room, looking at the photos once more, eyeing Claire critically in a pre-Christmas party image, "What is it with these photos?" he muttered, putting the album down and rubbing his head.

He was getting frustrated. He didn't like that it was taking him so long to figure out what was wrong, the sooner he did, the sooner he could get Evy back. He didn't like being separated from her. Sure, being apart when he knew she was safe was one thing, but to be apart knowing she may be in danger…Alex was lucky he hadn't reached the point he had when the Angel had been trapped in Evy's mind. He knew she was relatively safe, that Amy and Rory would look after her, but he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to hold off. Not knowing where she was exactly, what was lurking in that house, put him on edge.

' _It's alright Theta,_ ' he heard her whisper, sending him reassurance once again, ' _We're both fine, still fine, Amy and Rory are taking very good care of us. Just focus on what's wrong with George and we'll see each other again soon._ '

He took a breath, nodding to himself, getting worked up wouldn't help him, "Anyway!" he clapped his hands and looked at Alex, "Good. Nice tea. Nothing like a cuppa, but decision. Should we open the cupboard?"

Alex spit out his tea, nearly choking, "What?"

"Should we?"

"Well..."

"Got to open the cupboard, haven't we? Course we have! Come on, Alex! Alex! Come on! How else will we ever find out what's going on here?"

Alex stood, "Right. But you said..."

"Monsters! Yeah, well, that's what I do! Breakfast, dinner, and tea. Fight the monsters. So this...this is just an average day at the office."

"Ok. Yeah. You're right."

' _Don't rush into this Theta,_ ' Evy warned him softly.

He nodded, "Or maybe we shouldn't open the cupboard. We have no idea what might be in there! How powerful, how evil it might be! And trust me, we can't open it without Evy, everything is much safer when she's here…"

"Who?" Alex asked, before shaking his head to return to the more important statement, "We don't know?"

"Come on, Alex! Alex! Come on! Are you crazy? We _can't_ open the cupboard!"

"God, no. No, we mustn't!"

' _But…_ ' the Doctor straightened, hearing a conceding note in Evy's voice, ' _I_ am _slightly anxious to get back to you as well. And…we won't really know what's wrong if we can't see behind the cupboard…_ ' he heard her sigh, ' _Oh go on._ '

He grinned widely and beamed at Alex, "Right. That settles it."

"Settles what?"

The Doctor drained his cup of tea, "Going to open the cupboard," and headed out of the room.

~8~

The Doctor and Alex stood before the cupboard, the Doctor slowly reaching out for it while George watched from behind his father. He yanked the door open, only to see clothes and old toys inside it, including an old dollhouse. He scanned it quickly, recalling what Evy had guessed and found her energy signature and a trace of her sonic, very small, possibly miniaturized, like with the Teselecta if he had to guess. But how did she get in there?

He turned around though, thoroughly confused as to why there was nothing typically out of the ordinary in a cupboard exuding such odd readings, "I don't understand it," he shook his head, "It _has_ to be the cupboard. The readings from the sonic screwdriver, they were..." his eyes widened, his mind racing. Sonic, Evy, pregnant, belly...Claire! And he ran out of the room. Alex and George exchanged a glance, when he ran back in with the photo album, "How old is George, Alex?"

"What?" he frowned, not sure what that had to do with anything, "How old?"

"Yes. How old is George?"

"Well, I told you. Just turned eight."

"So you remember when he was born then?"

"Of course!"

"'Course you do! How could you not?" he held up the album, pointing to Claire on Christmas, flat belly and all, "You and Claire. Christmas Eve. 2002, right?"

"What? Er...yeah."

"Couple of weeks before George was born. Tell me about the day he arrived. Must've been wonderful."

"Best day of my..." Alex paused, before blinking and shaking his head, "Life."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

"You don't _sound_ sure."

"What are you trying to say? Look, I don't like this. I've told you before, I want you to go!" he pointed to the door. But his eyes said different, he was scared and confused.

"What's the matter, Alex?"

"I can't...don't! Oh, this is scary!"

"No, Alex. _This_ is scary. Claire with baby George," he showed him the next photo of just that, "Newborn, yes?"

"Yes."

"Less than a month after Christmas."

"So?"

"So look. Look!" he pointed at Claire's flat belly once more, "Claire's not pregnant."

"What?"

"Not pregnant."

"Well, of course not. Claire can't have kids!" Alex's mouth fell open as he realized what he said.

The Doctor closed the album gently, "Say that again."

"We tried everything. She was desperate. As much IVF as we could afford, but...Claire can't have kids. How...how can I have forgotten that?"

Slowly, they turned to look at George, sitting on the bed, "Who are you, George?"

"It's not possible! This isn't..."

"George?" the Doctor frowned, seeing George start to breathe heavily. The room began to shake and a light flashed through the cracks of the cupboard. George looked at the bedside lamp which switched on brightly before the cupboard door swung open and a vortex of bright white light appeared, pulling the Doctor and Alex towards it, "George! George, what's going on? Are you doing this?"

"What's happening?"

George pulled his legs to his chin and wrapped his arms around them, closing his eyes, "Please save me from the monsters! Please save me from the monsters! Please save me from the monsters! Please save me from the monsters!"

Alex and the Doctor tried to fight the cupboard, "George!"

"Doctor!" Alex strained.

"George!" he was pulled in.

Followed by Alex, "George!"

' _Doctor!_ ' he heard Evy shout as the cupboard door shut behind them.

~8~

"Why aren't there any lights?" Rory wondered as they walked down the hallway, "I miss lights."

Evy smiled at that, "You don't really miss things till they're gone, do you?"

Rory laughed, "That's what my Nan used to say, 'You'll never miss the water till the well runs dry.'"

"Guys," Amy started.

"Except light I mean, not water. Lights are great, aren't they? I mean if this place was all lit up, we wouldn't even be worried at all."

"Rory!" Amy cut in again, "Panicking? A bit?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry."

Suddenly Evy pulled them back as the landlord of the complex ran through the hallway towards them, "Help me! Please! Keep them away from me! Keep them away!"

They watched in horror as one of the life sized dolls grabbed him around the neck with one arm and forced him down to the floor, before slowly turning him into a Napoleon-like doll himself.

"I take it all back," Amy gasped, "Panic, now."

Rory nodded.

"This way!" Evy shouted, pulling them back, and they ran off down the halls, the dolls stiffly chasing after them.

"Don't run away," they called, "We want to play!"

Evy led them into a library, Amy and Rory slamming the door shut behind them and leaning against it as the laughter of the dolls filtered through the door. Rory looked at Evy who held a hand up, staring at the floor before teh door, watching as the shadows of the dolls moved away.

~8~

' _Doctor!_ ' Evy's voice echoed in his head, ' _Theta!_ '

The Doctor jolted up with a start and ran to the door of the dining room of the dollhouse, "George! Don't do this! We want to help you, George!"

Alex groaned behind him as he struggled to pull himself up to his feet, "We went…we went into the cupboard! We went into the cupboard! How can it be bigger in here?"

The Doctor turned around and walked to the table, seeing the turkey Evy had mentioned, sniffing it, "More common than you'd think, actually. You're ok."

"Where are we?"

"Obvious, isn't it?"

"No!"

"Dollhouse! We're inside the dollhouse."

' _Told you,_ ' Evy remarked, though he could feel her relief that he was ok and sent her reassurance, he was there now, he'd find her and they'd both work out a way out together.

"The dollhouse?"

"In the cupboard. In your flat. The dollhouse!"

"No, no, just slow down, would you?"

"Look! Wooden chicken!" he tossed it to Alex who caught it, "Cups, saucers, plates," he tossed them as well, "Knives, forks, fruit, chickens! Wood! So...we're either inside the dollhouse or this a refuge for dirty posh people who eat wooden food. Or termites! Giant termites trying to get on the property ladder," he picked up a melon and thrust it at Alex, "But it's a dollhouse, Evy's been exploring it, dollhouse yes. Termite refuge isn't possible, is that possible?" he didn't wait for a reply as he turned and left the room.

Alex dropped the items in his arms before following him into the hallway, "Look, will you stop?" he grabbed the Doctor's lapels and pulled him around, "What is he? What is George? And how could I forget that Claire can't have kids? How?"

' _Perception Filter,_ ' Evy remarked.

He nodded, it was how he'd been able to notice the pictures in the first place. Alex couldn't see that Claire was pregnant, but _he_ could. He knew something was off about them, could just sense it, and was able to focus and see past it. It seemed all that time around Evy and her own Perception Filter had allowed them both to be more sensitive to their affects, notice those things which were protected by one sooner.

"Perception Filter," he repeated, clapping Alex on the arms and walking off again, "Some kind of hugely powerful Perception Filter. Convinced you and Claire. Everyone else. Made you change your memories," he stopped in front of a mirror and made a face, "Now, what could do that?"

He walked off as Alex looked at the mirror, shaking his head, "Just a mirror," he sighed and moved to follow the Doctor as a doll appeared in the mirror's reflection.

~8~

Rory and Amy pressed themselves against the door with Evy as the dolls returned and banged against it, "Lock it!" Amy shouted.

"There isn't a lock!" Rory replied.

Amy groaned as they continued to push on the door. The dolls shoved it open a crack but they managed to push it closed again.

"Rory," Evy grunted, he looked over and she nodded at a giant spool of thread just to their right. He ran over and shoved it in front of the door.

~8~

"So, Claire can't have kids and something responded to that," the Doctor muttered as they walked on, he was trying to find the library, knowing from Evy that she and the others were trapped there, "Responded to that need. What could do that?"

"I thought you were the expert, fighting monsters all day long," Alex remarked, "You tell me!"

"Oi, listen, mush. Old eyes, remember? I've been around the block a few times. More than a few. They've knocked down the blocks I've been round and rebuilt them as bigger blocks. Super-blocks! I've been round them as well. I can't remember everything. And Evy isn't exactly here right now to help me focus…not to mention she's in a bit of a bind herself and I don't want to distract her at the moment. I'm sure I can figure it out on my own…"

"Doctor..."

"But it's like trying to remember the name of someone you met at a party when you were two."

"Doctor, the lift."

"And I can't just plump for 'Brian' like I normally do."

"Doctor, listen!"

"Shh," the Doctor hissed, hearing a breathing noise, "What's that?"

"It's the lift. It's the sound that the lift makes. George is scared stiff of it…" he looked over, spotting five electric candles that were switching off, one by one.

~8~

"We can't stay in here," Amy said as she looked around the room for another door but could find none, "We've got to get out!"

"Er, how?" Rory asked from where he was leaning by the door, Evy sitting on the spool.

Amy grabbed Rory by the lapels and pulled him close, "Take control, Rory. Take control of the only thing we can. Letting them in!"

"Letting them in?" Rory frowned.

"And then we surprise them."

Evy started to nod, "We open the door, push past them."

Amy grinned, "Kick them. Punch them. Anything. Ok?"

"Time to play!" the dolls cried, their voices muffled.

"Ok," Rory pulled away from Amy and looked around for a weapon, finding a mop.

"Right," Evy got up as Amy readied to move the spool, "So, I'll go first and…"

"No!" Rory and Amy shouted at her.

"Why not?" she frowned.

"Uh, the Doctor will _kill_ us?" Rory tried.

Evy rolled her eyes, "I'll go first so I can throw them back with my powers. Anything I miss, Rory can take out, Amy," she tossed her the pot, "And anything HE misses you can handle."

Amy and Rory exchanged a look, "What if your powers make you faint?" Amy asked her, concerned.

"Then it's a good thing I've got a nurse around eh?" she smiled.

The duo sighed, they really should have figured that arguing with Evy would get them nowhere. Not even the Doctor could win an argument against her. They nodded reluctantly and got in formation. Amy moved the spool and threw open the door. Evy threw out her hands and the dolls fell back, thankfully, since they were, in fact, dolls at that point, they were rather light and didn't cause her to exert herself too much, barely even a trickle of blood dropping from her nose.

"Amy, come on!" Rory shouted as Evy ran out, smacking one with the mop as he went when it started to get up.

Amy ran out as well, when something grabbed her ankle, "Rory!" she screamed.

They looked back but the dolls had already gotten up and blocked their path, allowing their fellow doll ample time to turn Amy into a doll herself.

"Go!" Evy shouted, shoving Rory up the stairs again as the dolls turned on them. They were too late. But if they could stop whatever brought the dolls to life there might be a chance to save Amy.

~8~

Alex crouched down, watching the lights turn on and off, one at a time, "Five times."

"What?" the Doctor looked over, concerned. He'd felt Evy panic, something had happened to Amy.

"The lights. It's happening five times. It's like one of George's habits," the Doctor knelt beside him, "We have to switch the light on and off five times."

"Now you're getting it!"

"What d'you mean?"

"What do you tell George to do, Alex, with everything that scares him?"

"Well, put it in the...cupboard..."

"George isn't just an ordinary little boy. So, anything scary he puts in here. Scary toys, like the dollhouse. Scary noises, like…" he swallowed hard, "Like the lift," he was on the verge of feeling guilty for Evy's current predicament, he had been the one to leave her with Amy and Rory, but forced himself not to…Evy would send him a mental smack if he did, "Even his little rituals have become part of it. A psychic repository for all his fears, but what is he?"

' _What is he?_ ' he wondered to Evy.

' _Bit busy right now love,_ ' she called back, her thoughts just a tad strained.

' _What's wrong?_ ' he stood up, stiff.

' _Oh I'm sure you'll see in a moment._ _They're closing in on you too._ '

' _Who?_ '

Before she could answer the door flew open and a life sized doll entered the room with a laugh. They spun around and gaped at it, "Oh, my God!" Alex's eyes widened. The Doctor pulled out the sonic and flashed the doll but it did nothing to stop it advancing, "A gun? You've got a gun?"

"It's not a gun. Wood! I've got to invent a setting for wood. It's embarrassing."

' _I'll work on an app later!_ ' Evy shouted and then he could tell she was running.

He turned and ran for the door on the opposite end of the room, grabbing a large pair of purple children's safety scissors off the ground, "Come on!" he yelled to Alex, shoving the doll away as they ran out.

"Don't run away," the doll called in a child-like voice, "We just want to play."

The Doctor slammed the door behind them to see they were in the main foyer, the staircase behind him. He strode over, sensing Evy near, "Massive psychic field," he muttered both thinking aloud and to Evy, "Perfect Perception Filter. And that need," he tossed the scissors to Alex, who turned and pushed the doll that followed them back, "That need of Claire's to…to..."

' _To have a child,_ ' Evy finished, ' _Any child._ '

His eyes widened, "Stupid Doctor!" he slapped his forehead, realizing what she had, "Ow…" he rubbed his forehead, so _that_ was why Evy always grabbed his hands when he thought too hard, that really did hurt and probably wasn't too good for his brain cells…

' _Focus,_ ' she called.

"George is a Tenza!" he shouted to Alex, "Of course he is."

"He's a what?" Alex looked over.

"A cuckoo. A cuckoo in the nest. A Tenza. He's a Tenza," he opened a door and quickly shut it as another doll was behind it, "Millions of them hatch in space and then whoomph! Off they drift, looking for a nest. The Tenza young can sense exactly what their foster parents want and then they assimilate. Perfectly."

"George is an...alien?" he shoved back the two dolls.

"Yup."

"But he's...he's our child!"

"Of course he is," the Doctor headed up the stairs, "The child you always wanted. He sensed that instinctively and sought you out, but something scared him. Started this cycle of fear…" Alex moved to block the dolls from following him up the stairs after the Doctor, "It's all completely instinctive. Subconscious. George isn't even aware that he's controlling it…"

' _So make him aware then!_ ' Evy called.

He turned and ran up the next flight, "George! GEORGE! You're the only one who can stop this, but you have to believe! You have to believe, you have to know you're safe! I can't save you from the monsters. Only you can! George, listen to me! George! Listen to me!" he turned suddenly, seeing Rory and Evy working their way down the stairs, Rory keeping Evy behind him as he fended two more dolls off with a mop, "Evy!" he shouted, relieved to see her alright, "Rory!"

"Doctor!" Rory called.

"Where's Amy?"

Evy pointed at the red haired doll, "George!" she tried shouting, "We really need you to face your fears...now would be great!"

The Doctor stepped up and pulled Evy more to him as he too started yelling again, "You have to open the cupboard or we'll all be trapped here forever in a living death! George! George, listen to me! George! George listen to me! George!" the Doctor looked around, alarmed, as they were cornered by the dolls, pressing Evy into the back corner as much as he could to protect her, "Please! George, you have to end this! _End this_ end this. End this now!"

Suddenly, the dolls stopped.

The Doctor and the men looked around, confused, when Evy shoved him aside just a bit, spotting something, "George!" she called, seeing the little boy standing in the center of the foyer below them.

The Doctor grinned, "George! You did it! You did it!"

"It's alright George," Evy tried to reassure him, seeing the fear still on the boy's face, "You're safe now. Everything will be just fine."

The dolls started moving again, but this time down the stairs, towards George.

"No," the Doctor's eyes widened, "No. No, no, no, no, no!" he ran forward to lean over the banister, "George, you created this whole world. This whole thing, you can smash it! You can destroy it!"

George shook his head.

"Something's holding him back," the Doctor muttered, "Something's holding him back. Something..."

Evy frowned, looking into the Doctor's memories and gasped, " _That's_ what did it," she turned to Alex, "That's the trigger. Alex, he thought you and Claire didn't want him anymore, that you wanted him gone, that you were rejecting him. Remember? When the Doctor introduced himself, George thought he'd come to take him away..."

Alex glanced between her and the dolls moving closer to a shaking George, "Well, we...we talked about it…"

"He _heard_ you. And that's devastating to a Tenze, their sole function is to fit in, to be wanted and loved, and you were _rejecting_ him."

"We just couldn't _cope_. We needed help!"

"Yes, but George didn't know that," the Doctor explained, "He _thought_ you were rejecting him. He _still_ thinks it."

"But how can we keep him? How can we? He's not..."

"Not what?"

Alex looked at George as the dolls closed in on the boy, "He's not...human.

"Maybe not," Evy agreed, "But he _is_ your _son_."

"DAD!" George shouted.

And that was all it took.

Alex turned and pushed the scissors into the Doctor's arms, running down the stairs, shoving the dolls aside as he knelt before his son, pulling him into a giant hug, "Whatever you are," he whispered to George as the boy cried into his shoulder, "Whatever you do, you're _my son_. And I will never, _ever_ send you away. Oh, George. Oh, my little boy."

"Dad," George sobbed as bright light started to filter through the windows.

Evy smiled gently, watching them, as she took the Doctor's hand, ' _So…_ ' he looked at her when he heard her speak in his mind, ' _Boy or girl?_ '

He smiled softly at her, ' _I don't care as long as it's happy and healthy,_ ' he dropped a little kiss on her forehead as Alex hugged George tighter.

"My little boy," he breathed.

"Dad," George sniffled.

The light filled the room…

~8~

The lift doors opened and Amy, Rory, and Evy stepped out.

Amy paused, "Was I..."

"Yeah," Rory nodded.

"Well," Evy remarked, leading the way to the courtyard, "This solves one thing," they looked at her, "If it's a girl," she put a hand on her stomach, "Never EVER getting her wooden dollies."

~8~

The Doctor smiled to himself as he felt Evy return, waiting outside for him with Amy and Rory. He turned, hearing the door open and a woman call out, "Hi!" he looked up to see Claire in the doorway of the kitchen, looking shocked as George sat on the counter, playing with a toy and laughing while he and Alex pottered around.

"Hello!" he greeted, "You're Claire, I expect. Claire..." he gave her two Gallic kisses, "How'd you feel about kippers?" he moved to the stove.

"Er...who..."

"They sent someone," Alex explained with a glance to the Doctor, "About George. It's all sorted."

Claire moved to George and rubbed his back as he munched on a piece of bread, "Yeah, we had a great time, didn't we?" the Doctor grinned.

"Yeah!" George beamed.

"See, he's fine."

"What?" Claire lifted an eyebrow, "Just like that?"

"Yes. Trust me."

Claire smiled and Alex kissed her on the cheek, George just smiling as he watched his parents. The Doctor nodded to himself and headed for the door as Claire moved to take over the cooking, he had a rather beautiful woman to get back to as well.

"Doctor, wait!" Alex called, stepping out of the flat after him.

"Sorry, yes," he turned, shaking his hand, "Bye."

"You can't just...I mean..."

"It's sorted. You sorted it. Good man, Alex. Proud of you," he turned away.

"What, that's it?"

He stopped, "Well, apart from making sure he eats his greens and getting him into a good school, yes."

"But is he going to...I don't know, sprout another head or three eyes or something?"

"He's one of the _Tenza_ remember? He'll adapt perfectly now," he pointed at George as he stepped out, "Hey! Be whatever you want him to be," he walked off but stopped, "I might pop back around puberty with Evy, mind you. Always a funny time and we'll probably need her opinion on things…I'm rubbish with girls. Well, girls who aren't Evy."

He turned and left, hearing Claire calling, "Kippers are getting cold!" before he reached the stairs.

He half jogged down them, eager to get to the courtyard and check for himself that Evy and the baby were fine. He grinned, seeing her sitting there on a low wall, between Amy and Rory, waiting for him. She stood up as he reached them and he kissed her gently, the Link reassuring him both she and their child were, in fact, just fine. He pulled away with a sigh, resting his forehead against hers for a moment before looking at Amy and Rory, still sitting there, "Come on, you two. Things to do, people to see, whole civilizations to save," Amy shook her head and got up as he eyed her, "You feeling ok?"

"Er, I think so," she replied.

"Well, it's good to be all back together again. In the flesh. Come on," he wound an arm around Evy's waist and they headed off, back to the TARDIS. The Doctor bound up the steps to the console as soon as the door was open, Evy shaking her head at him as she followed, Amy and Rory behind her, "Now did someone mention something about planets and history and stuff? Where do you want to go?"

"Um..."

"Mind's gone blank," the Doctor whispered to Evy as she came beside him.

"Well, she _has_ just been turned into a wooden dolly," Evy defended lightly.

"Excuses, excuses."

Amy laughed as Rory shrugged, "It's tough though. It's like being given three wishes."

"The whole Universe? Or Universes. Ooh, three wishes, like Ali Baba. How about that?"

~8~

_"Tick tock goes the clock_  
_And what now shall we play?_  
_Tick tock goes the clock_  
_Now summer's gone away?_

_Tick tock goes the clock_  
_And what then shall we see?_  
_Tick tock until the day_  
_That thou shalt marry me_

_Tick tock goes the clock_  
_And all the years they fly_  
_Tick tock and all too soon_  
_You and I must die._

_Tick tock goes the clock_  
_He cradled her and rocked her_  
_Tick tock goes the clock_  
_Even for the Doctor..."_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I loved the whole 'never getting wooden dollies' bit, sort of like how their child won't be getting a 'child-sonic' till they're 50 :) I have to say though, of the second half of Series 6, this wasn't my favorite episode. But I loved everything after this one. I seriously can't wait till The Wedding(?) of River Song though. It is my favorite episode of the second half of the series.
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor's very...mature...right. The Time Lords get quite the scare. What's this, Evy's made a terrible mistake?


	15. The Girl Who Waited (Part 1)

The Doctor was working away at the controls of the console, Evy rolling her eyes at him as she stood by her one panel, while Amy and Rory looked on.

"So…" Evy looked at him with a small smile. He was hiding his thoughts from her, but had promised a surprise and it seemed their child was rather eager to know what it was…she rested a hand on her stomach as it kicked, just as curious as its father it seemed.

"Apalapucia!" he clapped.

"Really?" she grinned, that was actually a fantastic, non-threatening stop. And Amy and Rory would love it.

"Say it again?" Rory asked.

"Apalapucia," Evy repeated.

"Apalapu..." Amy tried.

"Cia," the Doctor finished.

"Apalapucia," Rory managed.

"Apalapucia."

"Apalapucia," Amy grinned, "What a beautiful word."

"Oh, it's not just a beautiful word Amy, it's a beautiful _world_ too," Evy smiled as the Doctor flounced over to her and spun her around in a small hug.

"Apalapucia," he nodded, "Voted number two planet in the top ten greatest destinations for the discerning intergalactic traveler."

Rory frowned, "Why couldn't we go to number one?"

"Because it's horrible," Evy told him, walking over.

The Doctor nodded, " _Everyone_ goes to number one. Planet of the coffee shops."

"Apalapucia," Evy sighed, reminiscing the last time they'd been there, "Sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades…"

The Doctor led them to the TARDIS doors, "I give you..." he threw them open, only to see a white space beyond with a single pair of dull gray doors.

"Doors," Rory remarked, stepping out.

"Doors," he nodded slowly, stepping out, holding a hand back for Evy, "Yes. I give you doors. But on the _other side_ of those doors, I give you sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades..."

"Have you seen my phone?" Amy called as she stopped in the doorway of the TARDIS.

"Your _phone_?"

"Yeah."

"Your mobile telephone? I bring you to a paradise planet, two billion light years away, and you want to update _Twitter_?"

"Sunsets. Spires. Soaring silver colonnades. It's a _camera_ phone."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, when Evy quickly clapped her hand over it, "Check the console, it should be next to the DVDs."

Amy grinned, "Thank you!" and popped back into the TARDIS.

A moment later Evy squealed and pulled her hand away, "Doctor!" she mock glared at him.

"What'd he do?" Rory asked as she started wiping her hand on her pants.

"He licked my hand," she grumbled, "Mature Doctor. Very mature."

The Doctor sniggered till she pointed a warning finger at him, which made him quiet rather quickly. He gently reached out and grabbed her finger, turning her hand so her palm was open and dropped a kiss onto it.

"Sorry," he murmured, just playing with her hand, his head bowed as though a child scolded.

She sighed, "Such a child," she muttered, thinking for a moment to how it would be having to raise their child...and the Doctor...at the same time, before stepping forward and turning his head to give him a peck on the cheek, "Come on," she grinned, "Let's see those spires."

He grinned widely and pulled her to the gray doors, Rory silently shaking his head after them, they were rather unlike anyone else weren't they?

"How do we get in?" Rory asked as he joined them at the doors.

Evy rolled her eyes and pushed a button on the side, the green anchor on the top, there was a red waterfall below it. The door slid open and they stepped into another white room with a single table and chair set up with a very large magnifying glass on top of the table.

The Doctor pouted, "Ok, so, rain check on the soaring silver colonnades…"

Evy eyed his pout a moment before lifting his hand and kissing his knuckles. He looked at her and smiled softly, this must be his lucky day, he'd gotten two kisses in one minute.

The doors lid shut behind them as they looked around, "It's a magnifying glass," Rory called, looking at the device on the table. The Doctor walked over to the glass but held out the seat for Evy to sit before looking at it.

"Hey?" they heard Amy call through the doors a moment later, "Hey, it's locked."

"Yeah, push the button," Rory called back. It was silent for a moment but the doors didn't open, "Come on, Amy!" still there was nothing. Rory frowned and walked over, opening the doors but Amy wasn't there, "Where is she? Where on wherever we are is my wife?"

"Rory," Evy called, stopping him. Rory looked back to see Evy eyeing the glass critically, "I think...well...come and see for yourself," he walked over to see a blurry image of Amy in the glass, peering at them from the other side.

"Whoa!" Rory gaped, "No, but, she's not...she's not here! I can see her, but she's not here."

"Where am I?" Amy asked them as the Doctor walked behind the table, "In fact, where are _you_?"

The door suddenly slid open and a white robot with no face but with plastic hands with a milky mesh over it stood there, "Whoa!" Rory held his hands up in surrender as did the Doctor.

"Hands!" he pointed, "Hello. Hands. Handbot with hands, Rory."

"Welcome to the Two Streams Facility," it stated, "Will you be visiting long?"

"Evy, Doctor," Amy called, "Something's happening."

"Amy!" Evy leaned forward, trying to get the picture back as the image sped up, as though moving in fast forward, "Stop! Amy don't move!" she pulled out her sonic and flashed the one side as the Doctor did the same for the other.

"Ah, time's gone wobbly," he muttered, "I hate it when it does that."

The handbot thrust out its hand at Rory, "Will you be visiting long?"

Rory jerked back, "Good question, bit sinister. What's the answer to not get us killed?"

"Amy!" Evy called, getting the picture back, of Amy sitting curled up in the corner of the room.

"It's ok," the Doctor moved around to the other side of the table, leaning over Evy's shoulder to see Amy, "We've got you, you're fine."

"Will you be visiting long?" the handbot repeated.

"Doctor, a little help," Rory called, "Evy?"

"A moment Rory," Evy waved him off.

"And where have you _been_?" Amy demanded.

"Will you..." the handbot began again.

"What do I _tell_ it?" Rory hissed.

Evy turned in her chair and flashed the sonic at the handbot, short circuiting it as it slumped forward, its hands joined before it.

"I've been here a week!" Amy shouted.

"A week?" the Doctor's eyes widened as Rory ran over to them, "A _week_?"

"Oh Amy we're sorry," Evy told her.

"Ah ha!" the Doctor's sonic beeped, "Same room, different times. Two time streams running parallel but at different speeds."

"What?" Amy demanded.

"Where you are Amy, time is moving faster than where we are," Evy explained.

"Oh," she groaned, "It's going again!"

The image started to speed up once more, "Amy!" the Doctor shouted.

"HELP!" she screamed.

Evy quickly got to work on the glass once more, the Doctor resuming his work on the back of the glass till Evy called out, "She' back!"

He ran around to see Amy sitting in the chair, her feet up on the table, "Stabilized," he grinned, kissing Evy's cheek, "Settled, shh!"

"Why has this got hands?" Rory asked, eyeing the handbot now that it posed no threat.

"Keep an eye on this?" the Doctor asked Evy who nodded, turning to Amy, as he walked over to Rory, scanning the realistic hands, "Organic skin, ultimate universal interface, grown and grafted, not born. It's actually seeing with its fingers, scanning the room. But why not just give it eyes?"

Suddenly the handbot jerked awake, activated once more, "Will you be visiting long?"

"However long it takes to get Amy back," Evy called before turning to the girl in question, "Amy, what exactly did you do?"

"I just…I came in and I pressed the door button," she shrugged.

"Ah...Amy, there are _two_ buttons," Rory told her, "Green Anchor, Red Waterfall. Which one did you push?"

"I pushed the Red Waterfall."

Rory rolled his eyes and walked over to the door, pushing the button and stepping out of the room with a mutter of, "Great," the Doctor and Evy exchanged a concerned look when, moments later, Rory stepped back into the room with a frown, "I pressed Red Waterfall, and she wasn't there!"

"Which means you're not allowed to follow directly after her," Evy murmured.

"You know, it's never _simple_!" the Doctor groaned, turning to the handbot, "Hear that, Handbot? She just pressed the wrong button. We're aliens, we didn't know."

"Statement...rejected," the handbot announced, a red light blinking on, on its chest, "Apalapucia is under planet-wide quarantine. This is a kindness facility for those infected with Chen7."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he ran to Evy's side, quickly pressing a hanky to her nose and mouth as he pulled his jacket up to his own, "What?" he gasped, his eyes full of fear as he looked around nervously before stepping closer to Evy, feeling a flash of fear shoot through her, not for them but for their child.

"Chen7, hmm?" Rory asked, his own mouth and nose covered as quickly as theirs, seeing the Doctor's reaction.

"The One Day Plague."

"What, you get it for a day?"

"No, Rory...if you contract Chen7...you're dead within ae day," Evy whispered, taking the hanky herself, her other hand on her stomach, stiff, terrified.

"There are 40,000 residents in the Two Streams Facility," the handbot told them, "Please remain in the sterile areas. Visiting hours are now," it pushed its hands together and teleported away.

Evy let out a breath of relief, lowering her hand and leaning forward on the table, her elbows on it, head resting on her hands, " _Sterile_ area."

The Doctor nodded, putting his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them reassuringly, "We're safe, we're all safe."

"What about me?" Amy shouted, smacking the glass.

"Chen7 only affects two-hearted races like Apalapucians," the Doctor told her.

"And Time Lords," Rory eyed them, now realizing their reaction.

"Yeah," Evy breathed, leaning back, her hand moving to her stomach, "The three of us."

The Doctor shook his head, his hearts just starting to slow now that he knew Evy and their child were safe. To think that he'd nearly led them into an infected area...if Evy hadn't pushed the Green Anchor...he swallowed hard, he hadn't even _known_.

"In that facility, we're dead in a day," he whispered, a pit forming in his gut. As it was, this was starting to shape up to be a them or Amy situation…and he knew, in his heart of hearts, he would sacrifice the Earth, the Universe, for Evy…

' _It_ won't _come to that,_ ' Evy assured him, taking a breath as she put her hand on his on her right shoulder.

She looked at Amy, "Amy, if time is faster where you are...and you were there a week, what did you eat?"

"Nothing," she replied, "I wasn't hungry."

"So Red Waterfall time is compressed then," Evy nodded, understanding, "So that's what this does," she gestured at the glass, "It connects the time streams for visits."

The Doctor nodded, figuring that out as well, "You could be here for a day, watch them live out their entire lives."

"And watch them grow old in front of your eyes?" Rory frowned, "That's horrible."

"No, Rory, it's _kind_ ," he shook his head, "You've got a choice. Sit by their bedside for 24 hours and watch them _die_ , or sit in here for 24 hours and watch them _live_. Which would you choose?" he stepped back from Evy and picked up the glass.

"Doctor?" they heard Amy shout, "Doctor, don't leave me! Evy!"

"We're still here Amy, don't worry," Evy called, pushing herself up and walking over to the Doctor as he stood off to the side with the glass. She could see Amy sitting where she had been, "We're here."

"Where are you? Am I looking at you?"

"Turn left, just a fraction," the Doctor said and she did, slightly, "Bit more, stop. That's it."

"Eye to eye?"

"Eye to eye to eyes."

"Hello," Rory waved despite Amy not being able to see it.

"Amy, we're going to take the Time Glass back to the TARDIS," Evy warned her.

"Like sat-nav," the Doctor nodded, "We'll use it to get a lock, then smash through, using the TARDIS, to get you out. Until then, you're on your own," he held up the glass as Evy soniced it.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Locking the glass onto Amy," she replied.

"Small act of vandalism," the Doctor shrugged, "No one'll mind."

"You just _had_ to add that didn't you?" Evy grumbled as the alarm sounded.

"Ah," he looked up, "That will be the small-act-of-vandalism alarm."

Evy put her hand to her face and shook it, before looking back at the glass, "Amy, for now, you have to go in the facility, find somewhere to hide and wait for us. Leave us a sign to find you, ok?"

"Remember," the Doctor added, "You're immune to _Chen7_ , but don't let them give you anything. They don't know you're alien. Their kindness will _kill_ you. Now go!"

They watched Amy walk over to her door and press the 'Check In' sign. The door slid open and she stepped into the lift, turning to face them, "Rory, I love you. Now, save me. Go on."

The door slid shut and they were off.

~8~

The Doctor ran into the TARDIS, right up to the console, as Evy shut the door behind Rory and slowly joined him, "This is locked onto Amy permanently," the Doctor was explaining to Rory as he inserted the glass into the console, "Play the signal into the console, the TARDIS'll follow it."

He attached a cable to the glass and set off a small explosion, "Oh give me that," Evy snatched the wire and inserted it into the right slot as he dived down to dig through a box of odds and ends, leaving her to the set up and get the coordinates and commands set.

"Now then, I know you're in here," he muttered, "Um...er…ha ha!" he pulled a pair of black-rimmed glasses out and put them on, "How do I look?"

"Ridiculous," Rory deadpanned.

"Glasses are cool. See?" he put them on Rory.

Evy grinned, "Oh, yes. Hello, handsome man."

Rory looked at her, startled, "Oh, hello."

" _Handsome_ man?" the Doctor looked at her with a pout.

Evy rolled her eyes, "Yes, _handsome_ man," she turned the monitor so they could see she was looking at the Doctor through the small camera in the glasses.

"Oh," the Doctor blushed, a bit bashful.

Evy shook her head, "To be fair," she smiled at Rory, "Hello, Rory-cam!"

Rory laughed at that, "So, you'll be able to see what I see?"

The Doctor nodded, "We're breaking into Two Streams. We can't go in, the Chen7'll kill us, no regeneration. You will be our eyes and ears."

He nodded, "Rory-cam. Rescue Amy. Got it."

"That's the spirit! Now, smashing through a time wall could get a bit hairy."

"Is it safe?"

The Doctor paused at that and glanced at Evy, "Don't know. Never tried."

And there it was again, leaving it up to her. But, as she had told him so long ago, when he claimed he would pick her over the Earth, she would make him pick the Earth and so she would now with Amy. She smiled, "Best hold onto something," and pulled a lever down, setting the TARDIS off.

~8~

The Doctor laughed as he held onto the console, an arm around Evy, offering more protection as they zoomed through the time streams, the TARDIS knocking them about as they crossed through. Evy had to let out a little laugh as their child kicked excitedly within her.

~8~

They watched as Rory stepped cautiously out of the TARDIS, wearing the glasses, with the Time Glass attached to Evy's belt with sonic holster and her sonic, and shut the door behind him. They looked over at the monitor, seeing that he was in a white room with different art pieces, a red waterfall logo on the wall.

"Red Waterfall!" he cheered over the comms., "We made it."

The Doctor grinned at Evy, "Good old us!"

"Good old _me_ ," she corrected, nudging him in the side playfully. The TARDIS hummed, but they were unable to hear her in their minds. They, and the TARDIS, had to maintain a completely open line of communication to Rory, which interfered with the communication chip Evy had created.

"How do we know that we're in the same Red Waterfall as Amy?"

"Focus on the positive," the Doctor called.

"I used the TARDIS and the Time Glass to lock on to Amy's time stream and…" Evy assured him, trailing off when the image on the monitor lingered a bit too long on the breasts of the Venus de Milo, "Her eyes are up there Rory!"

Rory shook his head, quickly looking up at the statues face, "Right, yes, sorry."

"Apalapucians are the great cultural scavengers, Rory, this gallery's a scrapbook of their favorite places," the Doctor explained.

Rory walked more into the gallery, looking at the bits of art, "Bit of Earth, bit of alien, bit of...whatever the hell that is," he walked on, pausing a moment, "Where...is everyone?"

"Right," Evy's eyes widened, realizing something, "Rory, can you switch the Time Glass on, sonic it?" she moved to the controls, "I'm going to send a command to the screwdriver for you," the Doctor moved to help her, "Amy's got to be here somewhere so if we can just get a lock on her…"

"Hmmm," the Doctor muttered, "I wonder what happens if we mix the filters?"

He reached for a button but Evy slapped his hands away and continued with her work, ignoring his pout for a moment before kissing him, "I'd watch if I were you," she warned him, "Lest the pout gets old."

He grinned at her, "It'll only get old if you get tired of kissing me which…" he leaned forward and pecked her, "Will be never."

"You're _so_ sure about that are you?"

"Well," he shrugged, " _I_ could never get tired of kissing _you_."

Her eyes softened at that and a faint blush crept onto her face.

"Um…not to start sounding like Evy," Rory called, "But if we could focus…"

"Right!" Evy shook her head. She was starting to turn into the Doctor, getting distracted like that, but she supposed that was the price for carrying something of him inside her…

A reading flashed across the screen and the Doctor quickly read it, "There they are. 40,000 time streams overlapping. Red Waterfall isn't one time stream. It's _thousands_."

Evy let out a little whistle, "We're going to end up sorting that out as well aren't we?" she asked him. Compressing that many time streams was not only very dangerous, but damaging, and all around stupid.

"Are they happy?" Rory asked them.

They looked up to see him staring through the glass at the multiple shadowy figures moving quickly past, only a few of the time streams.

"Oh, Rory," the Doctor muttered, "Trust you to think of that. I think they're happy to be alive," he reached out and took Evy's hand, "Better than the alternative."

Rory lowered the Time Glass just in time for someone in pieced together armor made from handbot parts to charge at him with a katana, "I come in peace!" he shouted, backing up, "Peace, peace, peace, peace!" he fell backwards, a sword at his throat.

"Oh my God," Evy breathed. The Doctor looked at her, concerned, but she could only point to the monitor, at the long red hair falling over the shoulders of the attacker, face hidden by a visor.

"I waited," a computerized voice spoke but the Time Lords could recognize it regardless. The Doctor's moth dropped open, realizing what Evy had, just who the attacker was.

"Sorry, what?" Rory asked.

"I _waited_ for you," the attacker pulled away, "I waited!" and lifted the visor to revel an older Amy.

"Amy…Doctor, Evy, what's going on?"

"Er…" the Doctor looked at Evy, shaking his head, not knowing how to phrase it.

Rory pushed himself up, "Amy…"

"I think the time stream lock might be a bit wobbly," the Doctor said sadly.

Amy pulled her sword back, ready to strike, "No, please!" Rory pleaded, "Please!"

"Duck," was all Amy said before Rory ducked down, turning to watch as Amy put the sword through a handbot's head that had sunk up behind him. It fell backwards onto the floor. Amy moved over to it and crouched down, "Handbots carry a black box in case they go offline," she explained, her accent thicker, "I've changed the cause of termination from hostile to accidental. Easy to reprogram using my sonic probe," she stuck another black box in it.

"Amy."

She looked back at him, "Rory."

"Why?"

"I've survived this long by making the Handbots think I don't exist," she looked back at the handbot's hand, "Don't touch the hands. Anesthetic transfer, if they touch you, you go to sleep."

"But you're still here?"

"You didn't save me," she got up and strode away.

Rory dashed after her, "This _is_ the saving! _This_ is the us saving you! The Doctor and Evy just got the timing a bit out!"

"Sorry," the Doctor whispered.

"My God," Evy breathed, shaking her head in shock, "I really AM turning into you," she looked at the Doctor. She'd NEVER been this off before, _she_ had been the one to sonic the glass, to lock it onto Amy, to put the commands in the TARDIS and get them there...

The Doctor walked over and put an arm around her, silently assuring her it wasn't her fault. And logically, she knew he was right. With all the compression of time, it would have been impossible to get to Amy as specifically as they wanted…but then again, she was always one to do the impossible as everyone said…so failing in this just made her feel worse…

"I've been on my own here a long, long time," Amy started to speak again, drawing them out of their thoughts. They looked at the monitor to see Amy not making eye contact, "I've had decades to think nice thoughts about them. Got a bit harder to stay charitable once I entered decade four."

"40 _years_?" Rory gasped, horrified, " _Alone_?"

" _36_ years. Thanks!"

"No. Right, I mean...you look great. Really. Really..."

"Eyes front, soldier."

"Still can't win then."

"In fact, I think I can now definitely say I hate them. I hate the Doctor and Evy. I hate them more than I've _ever_ hated anyone in my life," Evy tensed, _so_ sorry, especially when Amy turned and looked directly at them through the monitor, "You can hear every word of this through those ridiculous glasses, can't you, Raggedy Man, Impossible Girl?

"Ah," the Doctor cleared his throat, giving Evy another squeeze, knowing she was far more emotional in her present state than she would have been. He leaned forward and flicked a switch, "Yes. Putting the speaker phone on."

"You told me to wait. And I did. A _lifetime_."

"Amy..." Evy began.

"You've got _nothing_ to say to me."

"Behind you!" the Doctor shouted.

Amy whirled around and tossed a staff she had on her to Rory, ducking down and pressing the hands of two handbots together, shorting them out, "Feedback. Knocks them out. Learned that trick on my first day," she stood up and strode out once more, Rory running after her through an outer corridor.

"Ok," Rory tried to get a handle on it all, "So we just take the TARDIS back to the right time stream, yeah? We can stop any of this happening."

Evy shook her head sadly, "When we locked on to this time stream, Rory, we became a part of it. We can't go back."

"This is _so_ wrong."

"I got old, Rory, what did you _think_ was going to happen?" Amy snapped.

"Hey!" he grabbed her arm, turning her to face him, "I don't care that you got old! I care that we didn't grow old _together_. Amy, come on, please."

Amy pulled her arm away, "Don't touch me. Don't do that," and walked off again.

"It's like you're not even her."

"36 years, three months, four days of solitary confinement," Amy muttered, stopping in front of a pair of doors with red smudges on them, she turned to face them, "This facility was built to give people the chance to live. I walked in here and I _died_. Do you have anything to say? Anything, Doctor? Evy?"

Evy opened her mouth to apologize once more when the Doctor grinned, "Where did you get a sonic screwdriver?"

"I made it. And it's a sonic _probe_."

"You _made_ a sonic screwdriver?" Rory asked.

"Probe," she corrected, "The Interface helped," and with that, she turned and strode through the doors. Rory rushed through, pausing when he caught sight of the massive engines before him. He shook his head and followed Amy through a small curtain between them.

He jumped back, seeing a handbot there, "Oh!" it turned around with a smiley face drawn on it.

"Don't worry about him. Sit down, Rory."

Rory and the handbot both sat and he looked at it, "You named him after me?"

"Needed a bit of company."

"So, he's like your..."

"Pet."

"Is it safe?" he eyed the handbot more.

"Yep. I disarmed it."

"How?"

"Look down Rory," Evy called softly, having caught a glimpse.

He did so and spotted the hands were literally cut off, "Oh, you...dis- _armed_ it."

"Oh, don't get sentimental, it's just a robot," Amy remarked, "You'd have done the same."

"I don't know that I would have," the Doctor called.

Amy whipped around and walked over to them, glaring at the glasses, "And there he is, the voice of God. Survive. 'Cos no one's going to come for you. Number one lesson. _You_ taught me that."

"Is that really all I taught you?"

"Don't you lecture me, blue-box man flying through time and space on whimsy. All I've got, all I've had for 36 years, is cold, hard reality. So, no, I don't have a sonic screwdriver because I'm not off on a romp. I call it what it is, a probe. And I call my life what it is...Hell."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably noticed how, in the beginning of Linked Through Time, Amy only really had a name for the Doctor (the Raggedy Man) but not Evy. However, by the end of the story, once the Universe was rebooted, I took it to be that some part of Amy remembered coming to terms with her feelings for Rory and the Doctor and the Doctor's relationship with Evy, and so, we had the Impossible Girl for Evy :) I really loved the Doctor in the beginning of this chapter, I could totally see him licking someone's hand so he could talk again.
> 
> These next few episodes...I have to say, Part 2 of every chapter to come is by far my favorite. I'm really looking forward to them. There's so much packed into them, and twists, and emotion, and awesomeness...I can't wait :)
> 
> Lol, I saw an icon that made me laugh. 'Daleks are Red, The TARDIS is Blue, Bow-ties are cool, And so are you!' I want that on a t-shirt :)
> 
> Next chapter...Rory guilts Evy. Evy makes a terrible decision. Amy and Rory get a glimpse of the future. It's the Doctor's turn to remind Evy that she's not alone.


	16. The Girl Who Waited (Part 2)

Amy turned away from Rory and Evy couldn't take it any longer, "Amy we'll fix this," she called, "You mentioned an Interface...could we talk to it?"

The Doctor looked over at her, seeing an outline of a few plans in her mind, but they would need much more information.

"Doesn't work in here," they watched as she checked her watch, "2:23, the garden'll be clear now," she looked at Rory, "Stay or go?"

"Sorry, me?" he pointed at himself, "No, I'm coming with you!"

"Then try not to get killed. Or do. Whatever," she walked out and Rory followed her, eventually coming to a white room with quite a few doors. She pushed a button on a center control panel and one door lit up before Amy walked through it, Rory after her. The Doctor and Evy blinked a bit at the sudden change of light but saw that they were in a beautiful garden with rather unusual hedges, "When I first came here, I had to trick the Interface into giving me the information, but I've reprogrammed it now. It'll tell me anything...except how to escape."

"You _hacked_ it?" Rory asked, impressed, "That's _genius_!"

"Sorry to interrupt that beautiful moment," the Doctor cut in, his arm around Evy's shoulders, just rubbing her arm in comfort, "But temporal engines have a regulator valve, which has to be kept from the main reactor or there's feedback. Interface, where's the regulator?"

A hologram appeared on the monitor of the layout and plans, "The regulator valve is held within."

"Ah! Oh, very, _very_ 'ah!'" he looked at Evy who cracked a small smile at his attempts to cheer her up.

She shook her head though, getting back to point, "Interface, we need a bit of tech specs. Rory, can you give the glasses to Amy? Just for a mo?"

"Here you go," the image shifted as Rory handed the glasses to Amy.

"They look ridiculous," Amy muttered, putting them on.

"That's what I told him. Still, anything beats a fez, eh?" they both laughed but Amy suddenly stopped, "What is it?"

"I think that's the first time I've laughed in 36 years," she admitted softly, looking at Rory.

He cleared his throat after a moment, "I'll just, um, leave you three geniuses alone. I'll be back in a minute," Amy watched him walk off.

"There's still time, Amy," Evy told her softly, "There's time to fix this."

Amy looked down, thinking, allowing the Interface to run the specifications for the Time Lords, when her watch beeped. She looked at it and took off. They watched as she ran through the garden, only to see a handbot standing over a fallen Rory on the other end, its head open, about to fire medicine darts at him. Amy quickly pulled out her katana and sliced its head off.

"Oh," Rory groaned.

Amy dropped to her knees beside him, "Rory?"

"Glasses."

Amy stood and turned away, "You _stupid_..."

Evy couldn't help but smile, "Now you know how I feel half the time," she remarked to Amy.

"Oh!" Rory groaned again, "You saved me."

The Doctor smiled as well, "And now you know how _I_ feel _all_ the time," he smiled down at Evy, kissing the side of her head. She really had saved him, in every sense of the word, and she kept doing it, just by being there with him.

"Don't get used to it," Amy spat.

Rory frowned at the camera, "Have you been crying? A little bit?"

"Shut up Rory."

"You have, haven't you?"

"Woman with a sword. Don't push it."

Rory raised his hands in surrender as the Doctor chuckled, "Ok, so here's the plan," he nodded at Evy who brought up the information they'd downloaded from the hologram the Interface had provided, "Time is always a bit wibbly-wobbly, but in Two Streams it's extra wubbly."

The image shifted as Amy handed the glasses back, "I've figured out how to hack into the temporal engines," Evy told them, "If we do it right, we can fold two points of Amy's timeline together."

"We're bringing her out of the then and into the now! Amy, I just need to borrow your brain a minute, it won't hurt, probably, almost probably...and then, Amy Pond..."

Evy smiled, "We can save you."

Amy glared into the glasses, "No!" she shouted, pulling out her sonic probe, "Time's up, Handbots coming," and spun around, storming off.

"Amy, you've got to help us help you," the Doctor called as Rory rushed after his wife, following her back towards the temporal engine room, "We need you to think back 36 years ago. Amy? Amy!"

Rory paused before the doors to the engine room, lifting the glass to see the faded red markings as they were in Amy's time, her message to them, 'Doctor, Evy, I'm here,' with an arrow to the doors, "You told her to leave us a sign Evy. And she did. And she waited. Oh, Amy," he shook his head and walked into the engine room after her, "Why won't you help yourself?"

"They want to rescue past me from 36 years back," Amy explained, "Which means I'll cease to exist. Everything I've seen and done dissolves, time is rewritten."

"That's...that's good, isn't it?" he stopped.

Amy spun around, "I will _die_. Another Amy will take my place, an Amy who never got trapped at Two Streams, who grew old with you, and she, in 36 years, won't be _me_."

"But you'll die in here."

"Not if you take me with you. You came to rescue me, so rescue me."

"Leave her and take you?"

Evy frowned, "We _could_ take her with us Rory. But if we do that then our Amy will have to wait 36 years to be rescued."

"So I have to choose, which wife do I want?"

" _She_ is _me_ ," Amy stated, "We're _both_ me."

"You being here is wrong. For a single day, an hour, let alone a lifetime. I swore to protect you...I _promised_ ," Amy just eyed him a moment before turning and striding through the curtains without another word.

"Rory..." Evy began.

"This is _your_ fault," he told her.

Evy flinched, it really was. She had been the one to tell Amy where her phone was, she'd been the one to tell Amy to go into the facility, she'd been the one to sonic the glass, to hook it up to the TARDIS, set the controls...everything had been her fault, "I'm _so_ sorry, but Rory…"

"No!" he snapped, "This is your fault! The two of you should look in a history book once in a while, see if there's an outbreak of plague or not."

The Doctor glared at the monitor, getting rather annoyed at Rory shouting at his Link for something that was beyond her control. HE had been the one to choose Apalapucia in the first place and bring them there, if Rory was going to blame anyone it would be _him_ , not Evy, "That's not how I travel."

"Then I do not want to travel with you!" he ripped the glasses off and threw them on the ground.

The duo flinched back from the sudden burst of feedback but stilled when they heard a soft crying, "Rory," Evy called timidly, through the comms., unable to see Rory anymore. The Doctor looked at her in concern, he hadn't heard her sound that timid in...ages, if ever. This was really starting to get to her, and the pregnancy was just making her all the more sensitive, "Is the Time Glass on? Because...I think we can hear Amy. Our Amy."

A moment later they heard Rory sigh, "Oh, Amy," there was another pause before, "Look me in the face and say you won't help her."

THey could hear Older Amy shuffle, unable to see anything but the floor where the glasses had fallen, "I will not help her."

"Ok...ok," Rory moved, "Look me in the face and say it now."

"Rory?" they heard their Amy call, "Rory is that you?" the sonic whirred and Amy's voice grew stronger, "Rory, where are you?"

"Same place as you, and a bit ahead."

"I remember this," Older Amy muttered, and they realized Rory was showing the women themselves.

"But who's she?" Younger Amy asked, "There's no one else here, but...me."

The image on the monitor shifted as the glasses were picked up. They could see Rory step out, past the curtains, leaving the Amys together, before taking the glasses from the handbot. Evy reached forward and switched the comms. from the Time Glass to the glasses. She knew Younger Amy would do whatever she could to convince her older self to save herself, but she also knew Amy would probably have to dig up very private and personal feelings and she didn't want to intrude.

The Doctor reached forward, too curious about what was being said, but she slapped his hands and pointed a warning finger at him. He held up his hands in surrender, knowing her emotions were a mess with all the strain of the day and he didn't want to set her off or upset her anymore than she already was. He reached forward and just put his arm around her, holding her, doing his best to reassure her that everything would be alright.

She let out a little breath and rested her forehead on his chest, shaking her head slightly. He dropped a kiss to her hair and she gave a little smile, feeling a gentle thump against the hand resting on her stomach. She couldn't help but laugh at that, even their child was trying to make her feel better.

"Everything will be alright Luna," he whispered, kissing her hair once more as she nodded into his chest.

They looked up suddenly when the sound of the curtain being shoved aside reached them. They looked at the monitor to see Older Amy standing before Rory. Evy reached forward and switched the comm. back to the Time Glass, "I'm going to pull time apart for you," she walked over to Rory and the image blurred a bit, but they both knew she had given him a kiss, before Rory pulled her into a hug, letting her cry.

~8~

"Ok, Doctor, Evy," Older Amy began as she led them through the engine room, "Two Streams is back on air. Right, ok, so this is big news, this is temporal earthquake time. I am now, officially, changing my own future. Hold on to your spectacles. In my past, I saw my future-self refuse to help you. I'm now changing that future and agreeing. Every law of time says that shouldn't be possible."

"The key word is possible though," Evy countered, "Sometimes, knowing your future gives you the tools you need to change it."

"Especially if you're bloody minded, contradictory, and completely unpredictable," the Doctor remarked.

"So, basically, if you're Amy, then?" Rory asked as they stepped out onto the balcony outside the room.

"Yes, if anyone could defeat predestiny, it's your wife," the Doctor smiled, "Evy as well now that I think about it…"

"It's not about _what_ I'm doing, but _who_ I'm doing it for," Amy cut in.

"Just about sums it up," Evy remarked, nodding to herself, as the Doctor beamed at her.

"I'm trusting you to watch my back, Rory," Older Amy turned to Rory.

"Always," he nodded, "You and me, always."

"'Cos here's the deal...you take me too, in the TARDIS. Me too."

The Doctor and Evy exchanged concerned looks before glancing at the rotor, the TARDIS hummed, they didn't even need to hear her speaking to know what she was trying to say...it wasn't good.

"But that means that there'll be two of you, permanently, forever," Rory spoke.

"And that way we _both_ get to live."

"Two Amys together. Can that work?"

The Doctor looked at Evy who could only look down, this was far too impossible, even for her to do something.

"We…don't know," the Doctor began slowly, realizing that what he would have to tell them would hurt, that it couldn't be done, that one Amy was all they could take. He didn't want to have to say it so he added, "It's your marriage."

"Doctor!"

The Doctor tensed, not wanting to say.

Evy took a breath, taking his hand as she made a decision, "Perhaps," she called, "Maybe. If…" she swallowed hard and looked at the Doctor, uncertainty in her eyes about what she was going to do, if it was right, "We shunted the reality compensators? Recalibrated the doomsday bumpers? Jettisoned the karaoke bar…" she sighed, shaking her head, thankful Rory and Amy couldn't see her, see what she was about to do to them, "Yes, we could do it. The TARDIS _could_ sustain the paradox."

The Doctor squeezed her hand, realizing what she had done. They _needed_ to get them back to the TARDIS but…they couldn't tell them that they could only let one Amy onboard.

"Right," Rory cut in, "Amy..." they looked at the monitor as he held up the glass to past Amy, "And Amy. The wife and the wife, right."

"Ok," the Doctor swallowed hard, getting to work, "Amy, Past Amy, stand by the door."

"You as well, Future Amy," Evy called.

"Future Amy, can I borrow your sonic scr...probe?"

"It's a screwdriver," Older Amy grinned into the glasses, handing it to Rory.

"Rory, sonic the probe to double our power," Evy called as Rory did just that before tossing the probe back to Amy.

"Amy Now, you're our link to Amy Then," the Doctor explained, "We need to get a signal through. That signal will be a thought. Amy Now and Amy Then, share a thought."

"Something powerful...so incredibly powerful that it can rip through time," Evy smiled softly, looking at the Doctor, the object of her own thought if she had been in that predicament.

The Doctor blushed, catching her thoughts before he shook his head and turned back to the monitor, "Rory, sonic the plinth front. Inside you'll find three levers and a jumble of wiring. That's the regulator valve," Rory pulled the front off.

"Be careful though, because you'll only have, at the absolute most, ten minutes to get to the TARDIS after we reboot it," Evy warned.

"Ok," Rory nodded.

"Pull out the red and green receptors, reroute blue into red, and green into blue," the Doctor instructed quickly, "Leave red loose and on no account touch anything yellow," Rory struggled, pulling out the green and blue, staring at them, "Come on, Rory. It's hardly rocket science."

"It's just quantum physics and he's human," Evy reminded him before nudging him out of the way, "Rory, blue into red," she reminded him, waiting till he did so, "Green into blue."

"Yes, right," he muttered, working away.

"Now the lever," the Doctor called, "Throw them in order! Amys, start thinking the most important thought you've ever had. Hold it in your head and do _not_ let it go! Lever one."

Rory pulled the lever as they heard the Amys mutter, "Macarena," over the comms., both of them, "Macarena, Macarena."

Rory looked over, watching the Older Amy sway to the dance, "She's doing the Macarena."

"Macarena. Macarena. Macarena."

"Our first kiss."

Evy smiled softly, regretfully, "Lever two, Rory," she reminded him gently.

Rory pulled the next lever and a faint image of Amy Then began to flicker in front of her older self.

"Lever three," the Doctor finished.

He pulled the last lever and the Time Glass shattered, sparks flew in the TARDIS, the Doctor pulling Evy back from the violent reaction for only a moment before they were both back at the panels, trying to calm the TARDIS who was very, VERY cross with the both of them right then...and if they could hear her...was probably shouting curses at them in Gallifreyan that ought not be repeated anyway.

"Oh, Amy!" Rory shouted. They looked over, watching as Rory ran over to the Amys, who were both standing there, solid.

"Oh, my God," Amy Then breathed.

"Oh, my God," Amy Now repeated.

Rory hugged Amy Then tightly before backing away as Amy Now watched, "Sorry..."

"Hello," Amy Now greeted.

"Hello!" Amy Then cheered.

"I don't know what to..." they both started.

"Weird," Rory whispered.

"Ok, this is weird," they both said again, "Right, just stop doing that."

"How about Amy One speaks first?"

"Which one's Amy One?"

"Well..."

"I am. No, I am! Rory! Rory...just stop doing that!"

The monitor sparked, the image going fuzzy as Rory cried out in pain, "Ah!"

"Rory, take the glasses off!" Evy shouted as they struggled to control the sparking and smoke exuding from the console, "That's temporal feedback."

"Whoa!" the Doctor yelled to the TARDIS as Rory threw the glasses to the ground, "Calm down, dear! Rory, Amy, we've created a massive paradox and the TARDIS hates it."

"She's trying to self-phase," Evy added as she helped the Doctor frantically man the controls, the Doctor temporarily forgetting about stationing her at only one panel, "She really wants to leave now."

"What's nasty Amy done to you?"

"Just calm down, dear," Evy tried to soothe, "Just a little longer..."

"Rory, you've got eight minutes left," the Doctor called, reaching the monitor, "We're sorry, you're on your own now."

The monitor sparked once more and the image and comms. were gone. Which meant...

' _I'm going to kill you both!_ ' the TARDIS shouted in their minds, sounding remarkably like Evy, as the box shook around them.

They looked at each other in panic a moment, running around the controls, trying to keep the TARDIS in place long enough. All they could do was wait and hope they would make it.

~8~

Evy looked up, hearing a scream outside the TARDIS and Rory shout for Amy. The Doctor looked over at her and she nodded, working on the controls, keeping them set while he ran to the doors just as they were kicked open. Rory ran in, Amy Then unconscious in his arms. He gently laid her down on the floor as the Doctor covered her with his coat, quickly scanning her with his sonic, "Ah, it's just an anesthetic," he replied, "She'll be fine," he got up and ran to the doors, standing in them as he looked out. He could see Amy Now at the end of the gallery, she threw down her staff and sword and ran for the TARDIS, "We're sorry," he breathed, before slamming the doors closed, locking them just as she reached it.

"What are you _doing_?" Rory jumped to his feet and ran over.

"We lied... _I_ lied to her, Rory," Evy called softly from the controls, she walked over, the TARDIS calmed now that the paradox was seemingly avoided.

"Doctor?" Amy Now pounded on the door, "Let me in!"

"There can't be two Amys in the TARDIS," the Doctor nodded, "The paradox is too massive."

"She'll die!" Rory shouted.

"Evy?" Amy Now called, "Let me in!"

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "She'll never have existed. When we save our Amy, this future won't have happened."

"But _she_ happened!" Rory pointed at the door, "She's _there_!"

"Evy!" Amy Now pounded on the door, "Doctor! I _trusted_ you!"

The Doctor closed his eyes as Evy walked over, putting an arm around him as he muttered, "No, she's not real."

"She _is_ real," Rory argued, moving for the door, "Let her in!"

"Look, we take this Amy, we leave ours."

"There can only be _one_ Amy in the TARDIS," Evy told him gently. And she knew that when she told them they might save both. She had to get the Amys there, so they could get their Amy back. She told them that, knowing the other Amy would, for all intents and purposes, die. She told them, she lied to them, and that was a decision she would have to live with for the rest of her lives.

"Which one do you want?" the Doctor put Rory's hand on the latch, "It's your choice," before he turned and walked back towards the console.

"This isn't fair!" Rory shouted after him, "You're turning me into you."

The Doctor paused with a wince.

"It's up to you, Rory," Evy whispered.

Rory looked at her desperately, "Can't you save her?"

Evy shook her head sadly, "It's impossible."

"But…you always do the impossible, _always_ …"

"Not always," Evy sighed, putting a hand on Rory's shoulder, "I'm so sorry Rory...but...if she steps through that door with Amy being here…" she could only shake her head.

Rory swallowed hard, so it was _that_ bad, then.

"Doctor?" Amy Now called, "Evy?" the Doctor reached out and took Evy's hand, tugging her away from Rory, "Doctor! Evy? Doctor? Evy!" Evy knelt by Amy Then's side, scanning her with her sonic, taken back from Rory, while the Doctor continued on to the console, "Rory? Please," Rory turned to see Amy Now's hand pressed against the glass, "The look on your face when you carried her. Me. Her. When you carried her away, you used to look at me like that. I'd forgotten how much you loved me. I'd forgotten how much I loved being her," Rory leaned his head against the door as Evy stood up and walked over to the Doctor, slowly walking around the console, helping him prepare for dematerialization, "Amy Pond, in the TARDIS. With Rory Williams."

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," Rory murmured, starting to turn the lock.

"If you love me, _don't_ let me in," Rory looked up, shocked, "Open that door, I will, I'll come in. I don't want to die. I won't bow out bravely. I'll be kicking and screaming, fighting. To the end."

Rory closed his eyes tightly, "Oh, Amy," his voice broke, "Amy, I love you."

The Doctor walked over to Evy, putting a hand on her shoulder as she turned to hug him, he could hear her in his mind as she listened to Amy Now and Rory speak, she was blaming herself for this.

"I love you too," Amy Now continued, "Don't let me in. Tell Amy, your Amy, I'm giving her the days. The days with you. The days to come."

"I'm so, _so_ sorry."

"The days I can't have. Take them, please. I'm giving you my days."

"I'm so, so _sorry_ ," he let go of the latch and turned away from the door.

"Do not be alarmed," he could hear through the door, "This is a kindness. Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness."

"Please," he called to the duo, "Don't let them get her."

The Doctor nodded and turned, pulling a lever as the TARDIS began to wheeze, disappearing so that Amy Now would fade before the handbots could kill her. As soon as they were in the Vortex Rory scooped Amy into his arms and carried her to the jump seat, the Doctor's coat still wrapped around her.

The Doctor looked over to see Evy sitting on the steps, leaning her head against the railing. He frowned and walked over to her, sitting beside her.

"It's all my fault," she whispered, leaning forward to put her head in her hands.

"Evy…" he began.

"Don't try to say otherwise Theta," she whispered, "I told Amy where her phone was, I pressed the Green Anchor, I locked onto her timeline, I was the one who set the timeline into the TARDIS, and…I was the one who told them they might save both Amys," she shook her head, "I…I've NEVER messed anything up this badly before…I…" she shook her head, tears in her eyes.

The Doctor pulled her into a sideways hug, "We all make mistakes," he whispered in her ear, resting his head against the side of her own. He smiled a bit, "You taught me that. You've cleaned up so many of my messes Luna," he felt her smile, as she always did, at the use of her name. He didn't often use it, her true name, but when he did it _meant_ something, "You've taught me that, even when I make a mess, it's never too big that it can't be cleaned."

"How do I clean this one?" she shook her head, turning to look at him.

"You already did," he reassured her, "Look," he turned to nod at Amy, sitting on the chair, "She's fine, the Amy we met in Two Streams will never exist now," Evy looked down a moment in thought, "And no matter what mess you make, I'll _always_ be here with you. You've drilled it into me enough times that I'm _not alone_ any longer, I don't have to face my messes alone, and neither do you. I'm here," he squeezed her hand tightly when Rory plopped onto the stairs beside them.

"Did you always know it would never work?" he asked them, his gaze still on Amy, "Saving both Amys?"

Evy moved to open her mouth but the Doctor answered before her, "We promised you we'd save her, and there she is. Safe," he patted Rory's shoulder and stood up.

"Yeah. There she is."

Evy looked at Amy and then the door of the TARDIS before pushing herself up as well, heading over to the console.

A moment later Amy stirred and Rory rushed to her side, the Doctor turning to look on, "You alright?" Rory asked, stroking her hair.

"Mhmm," she nodded, still just a bit groggy.

"How you feeling?"

Amy winced as she slowly awoke, blinking as she looked around, seeing Rory, kneeling before her, but not someone else, "Where is she?" she frowned, trying to find her older self.

"Right here," Evy said quietly, pulling a lever, landing the TARDIS, gently for once.

The Doctor looked over at her, seeing her plan in mind and walked over to her as Rory started to help Amy up, "Are you sure about this?"

"It's a stretch," she admitted, "An impossible stretch, but…" she smiled a bit, "This is _me_ we're talking about, has it ever not worked?"

The Doctor smiled, seeing her bouncing back from this, and took her hand. They walked to the doors of the TARDIS, Amy and Rory following after them. Evy took a breath and opened the doors.

Amy blinked as sunlight hit her face, a different, brighter light than the TARDIS's natural glow. She squinted as her eyes adjusted and heard Rory gasp beside her. And then she saw it…

They had landed on a field, a beautiful field, filled with wild flowers, a meadow just outside a quaint cottage in the distance, one giant beautiful backyard. But that wasn't what got her, there, playing with a young girl with light brown hair was her, older, a much more gracefully aged version of herself but with a few wisps of gray in her hair.

"Mum!" someone in the distance shouted. They looked past the duo to see a woman with redish hair, standing in the doorway of the cottage, "Dinner's ready! Dad said to tell you not to make him wait another 2,000 years just to eat!"

Older Amy laughed, shaking her head, "I'll be right there Evelyn!"

Evy let a little breath out at that and looked at Younger Amy who seemed to be almost blushing. Evy just smiled and gave her hand a squeeze, honored that she would name her daughter after her.

"Come along Brookie," Amy heard herself call to the child. The little girl waddled over to her, Older Amy scooping the girl into her arms, "We mustn't keep mummy waiting eh?"

Brookie giggled and shook her head, burying her face into Older Amy's neck as she hugged her grandmother.

Just before the woman turned to go, she looked right over at them, smiling, and held up a hand in a wave.

Amy blinked, stunned, but then recalled what had just happened to her, she would make sure to remember this day, she would wave as well. She held up her hand, Rory putting an arm around her waist as he nodded at the older version of his wife.

Older Amy nodded at them and turned to head into the house.

Rory smiled and stepped past Amy to hug Evy tightly, "Thank you," he whispered in her ear.

It had been so, _so_ hard to leave Older Amy in the Kindness Facility, but…to see her there, happy, with a family, still married to him in 36 years…it lessened the pain just a bit. And honestly, he'd rather his wife be happy and loved than alone as she had been.

"You're welcome," she whispered back, hugging him as well.

A moment later, she was tugged back, "Ok, enough touching my Link."

Evy laughed, rolling her eyes as she settled back against the Doctor's chest, "What, are you going to be jealous of Rory now?"

"Oh hush, you love it when I get jealous," he murmured in her ear.

"So…that's my future?" Amy asked, still in shock to see the family she would one day come to have.

"Ish," the Doctor nodded and Amy looked at him, startled, "It's not set in stone, things change, decisions are made, time is rewritten, but…keep going the way you are and yeah…it'll be something like this."

Amy smiled and looked at Rory, pulling him into a kiss of thanks, without him, she just knew she wouldn't have that future, that family…

"But honestly," the Doctor continued, interrupting them, "Really?"

"What?" Rory shook his head, not quite sure what the Doctor was on about.

"Brooke?" he eyed them, but they just stared, "And then there's River…any more water-based names you'd like to use Pond? Aqua? Mist? Oceania? No? Perhaps Puddle?"

Amy just laughed as Evy smacked him on the back of the head, "Oi! Her daughter is named after _me_ you dolt."

He just hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," and then he turned and held the door open for her to enter the TARDIS.

Amy looked at Rory once more, the two of them giving one last look at the cottage, before turning to head into the TARDIS as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like that little scene? Now here's the question...how is it possible? I mean, time is being rewritten all the time, but this future...how can it be there? If you've seen Asylum of the Daleks, you'll know what I mean. How could this future family possibly exist for Amy and Rory? And if you've seen The Angels Take Manhattan, then you've got to ask how can the Time Lords even visit? Hmmm...I guess you'll have to wait till I write Series 7 to find out :)
> 
> We should also keep an eye open...Evy's probably nearly ready to pop now. When will she? Will she give birth in a bad-dream infested 'hotel?' Will her water break staring down a Cyberman in a damaged CyberShip? Will it even be possible for a Time Lord to be born in a timeline that's falling apart? Or will the Doctor get another emotion filled Christmas gift? Guess we'll find out...
> 
> Next chapter...Evy wrote a thesis on Tivoli. Casanova isn't the only man the Doctor has an issue with. Evy is suspicious of Rita.


	17. The God Complex (Part 1)

The Doctor popped his head over the railing of a stairwell in an 80s themed hotel, Evy beside him, pulling him back up as Amy rolled her eyes, "'Let's go to Ravan-Skala,' he says. 'The people are 600 feet tall, you have to talk to them in hot air balloons and the Tourist Information Center is made of one of their hats,' he says. I'm sorry, but I don't see any huge hats."

"Amy," the Doctor grinned, "Beaky. Ow!" he rubbed the back of his head as Evy whacked him, she apparently wasn't as much of a fan of his names for Rory as he was, "This could be the most exciting thing I have ever seen! Well, second most…"

"You're kidding," Rory remarked.

"Second?" Amy eyed him. However, the blush on the Doctor's face and his less than subtle glance at Evy was more than enough to suggest just what that first most exciting thing was. Amy shook her head, but with a soft smile on her face, "How can you be excited about a rubbish hotel on a rubbish bit of Earth?"

"Because," Evy smirked, having caught the Doctor glancing at her, before she turned to Amy and Rory, "It's not Earth. It only _looks_ like it."

The Doctor ran a hand along a pillar beside him, "The craftsmanship involved...can you imagine?"

"What?" Amy frowned, confused, "Then where are we?"

They just walked back down a floor to where the TARDIS was sitting, surrounded by potted plants and framed photos of what appeared to be employees on the walls, "No idea," Evy had to admit, "Something pulled us here."

"Look at the detail on that cheese plant!" the Doctor cried, sniffing a plant, still far too interested in the design of the hotel than being concerned with how they got there.

"Right, but who would mock up an Earth hotel?" Rory asked.

The Doctor plucked an apple from a bowl and shined it on his lapel, "Colonists maybe, recreating a bit of home, like when ex-pats open English pubs in Majorca," he tossed the apple to Evy, recalling her like of the apple after they first regenerated. She rolled her eyes at him but took a bite regardless, "No, whoever did this, I am shaking his/her hand/tentacle."

Rory shook his head when the photos caught his eye, "Have you seen these?" he called to them as the Doctor and Evy walked over, "Look at the labels underneath," he pointed to a Sontaran, "Commander Halke, defeat," then a human male, "Tim Heath, having his photo taken," and another humanoid woman, "Lady Silver-Tear...Daleks."

Evy frowned, eyeing the photos, they were all in the same position. Exactly the same. Their uniforms all wrinkled in the same way, the tie in the same position…something was very, _very_ wrong. Unconsciously she rested her hand on her stomach, rubbing it lightly, still munching on her apple.

"Paige Barnes, other people's socks," Amy read, "Tim Nelson, balloons. Novice Prin, saberwolves. Royston Luke Gold, Plymouth. Lucy Hayward, that brutal gorilla. What does it mean?"

Evy could only shake her head, "I don't know."

The Doctor grinned, "Let's find out!"

~8~

The Doctor tapped the bell in reception, half leaning over the desk, with Amy, Rory, and Evy behind him, when suddenly three people ran around the corner, one of them, a young Indian woman, swinging a chair leg at them. The Doctor quickly pulled Evy behind him, backing her away from the makeshift weapon, "Blimey, that was quick," he muttered.

"We surrender!" a man, clearly an alien, who resembled a mole, shouted.

"No, it's ok, we're not…" Rory held up his hands, trying to calm them, "We're nice!"

"She threatened me with a chair leg!" the Doctor pointed at the woman.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"We're back in reception," the young boy beside her moaned.

"We surrender!"

"Never been threatened with a chair leg before!" the Doctor looked at Evy who simply rolled her eyes and pushed herself to his side.

"Cleopatra," she reminded him.

"Ah yes…" he winced, "I tell a lie."

Amy was about to comment on the fact that the Doctor had met Cleopatra, when something registered and she turned to Rory, "Did you just say, 'It's ok, we're nice?'"

"Ok, I need everyone to shut up now!" the woman shouted.

"Rita, be careful, yeah?" the boy whispered.

Rita stepped closer to them, eyeing them carefully, "Their pupils are dilated. They're as surprised as we are. Besides which, if it's a trick, it'll tell us something."

"Very good," Evy smiled, impressed.

The Doctor nodded in agreement, "Oh, she's good. Amy, with regret, you're fired."

"What?" Amy turned to him.

"I'm kidding," he waved her off, looking at Rita and miming holding a phone, whispering, "We'll talk."

Evy shook her head at him and stepped past him now that the supposed danger was past, "Given the pathological compulsion to surrender, you've got to be from Tivoli," she commented, looking at the mole man.

"Yes," he nodded, pleased she recognized him, "The most invaded planet in the galaxy. Our anthem is called 'Glory To Insert-Name-Here.'"

She nodded, "I wrote a thesis on your planet once," she remarked, "Ridiculous Cowards or Crafty Rebels."

The mole man looked at her, confused, but nodded anyway.

"You with the face," the Doctor pointed to the young man.

"Howie," he muttered.

"Howie," he nodded, "You said you were surprised to be back in reception."

"The walls move, everything changes."

"You, clever one…"

"Rita," Evy reminded him.

"What's he talking about?"

"The corridors twist and stretch, rooms vanish and pop up somewhere else," she explained, "It's like the hotel's alive."

Suddenly the music that had been playing softly in the background switched off and they looked over to see Evy by the controls, "Thank goodness," she remarked, turning around to see them watching her, "What? That music was horrid. I prefer my child to listen to Mozart," she shrugged. The Doctor just grumbled under his breath, "What was that?" she eyed him with a raised eyebrow.

She knew very well what he was grumbling. Mozart, much like Casanova, had hit on her as well, even going so far as to dedicate his 'The Magic Flute' opera to her…something that still irritated the Doctor to that day. She couldn't help it if his work was truly good music. They Doctor, of course, claimed he could do better and had tried his hand at composition, trying to record the music of the spheres…it hadn't worked so well, only creating a mess of horrendous noise that left her partially deaf for three days.

"And it's huge, with, like, no way out," Howie added, pulling them out of their thoughts.

"Have you tried the front door?" Rory asked, nodding back to the doors behind him.

"No," Rita replied sarcastically, "In two days it _never_ occurred to us to try the front door. Thank God you're here!"

The Doctor turned and scanned the doors with his sonic while Amy laughed at Rita's comment. He moved over and threw the doors open to see a white brick wall behind it, "They're not doors, they're walls, walls that _look_ like doors. Door-walls, if you like, or 'dwalls,' 'woors' even…"

"Like the hay-like needle of death...or the green, singing shark in an evening gown..." Evy gave him a look.

He blushed just a bit, "Yes, right, you got it when I said, 'They're not doors.'"

Evy shook her head at him, leaning forward to give him a peck on the cheek, before she walked over to the windows, "So then the windows are most likely…" she pulled a curtain to the side to reveal more wall.

The Doctor frowned, "Right, big day if you're a fan of walls."

"It's not just that," Rita added, "The rooms have...things...in them."

"Things?" the Doctor turned to her, now with a grin, "Hello! What kind of things? Interesting things? I love things, ask anyone."

Rita looked at Evy who could only nod sadly, "Far too much for his own good."

"Oi!" he mock glared at her.

Evy ignored him and turned back to Rita, "What kind of things?"

Rita hesitated, "Bad dreams."

The Doctor's smile slowly faded, glancing at Evy, concerned now, "Well, that killed the mood," he looked at Rita, "How did you get here?"

"I don't know, I'd just started my shift. I must have passed out, because suddenly...I was here."

"I was blogging, next thing, this," Howie nodded.

"Oh, I was at work, I'm in town planning," the mole smiled, "We're lining all the highways with trees, so invading forces can march in the shade."

"Ah," the Doctor nodded.

"Which is nice for them."

"Yeah...so what have we got?"

"People abducted out of the blue, stuck in an endless, shifting maze that, for some reason, looks like a 1980s hotel, that has bad dreams hiding in the bedrooms should just about cover it," Evy summarized.

The Doctor nodded, picking up a small Rubik's Cube that was sitting on the reception desk, "Well, apart from anything else, that's just rude."

~8~

The Doctor led the way up the stairs as they headed for the floor they'd left the TARDIS on, "We'll pop back to the TARDIS, I'll do a planet-wide diagnostic sweep, then we'll have a sing-song."

"Or not," Evy sighed, seeing the TARDIS was gone. Same place, same pictures and plants, but no big blue box. The Doctor rushed forward, arms stretched out, feeling around in case it had decided to go invisible on them.

"Where's the TARDIS?" Amy frowned, voicing their concerns, "You parked it there, didn't you?"

"What's a TARDIS?" Howie asked.

"Our way out," Rory dropped his head into his hands, "And it's gone."

The Doctor turned and looked up when he heard the music turn back on, "Ok. This is bad. At the moment, I don't know how bad, but certainly we're three buses, a long walk, and eight quid in a taxi from good," he gave a weak chuckle, trying not to alert the humans and the mole to how uneasy he was with this unknown danger lurking around, especially with his pregnent Link there. He shook his head and turned to the trio, "Are there any more of you?"

"Joe, but he's tied up right now," Rita replied.

"What's he doing?" Evy asked, unable to think of what someone could possibly be doing alone in this sort of place.

"No, I mean he's...tied up...right now."

Evy paused a moment, "He's not handcuffed is he?" Rita eyed her oddly before shaking her head, "Good," she smiled and looked at the Doctor, knowing just what she needed to say to lighten the mood, at least for him, "Means River's not hiding around here at least."

The Doctor just laughed, smiling at her, and took her hand, heading back down the stairs.

~8~

The Doctor slowly entered the dining room of the hotel to see a man with dark hair sitting tied to a chair, surrounded by ventriloquist dummies, all laughing at him, bobbing their heads up and down. He looked back, holding the door open more for the others to enter, Rory after him followed by Amy, Evy, and the rest. He glanced at Joe once more before looking at Evy, holding up a hand to her. She looked reluctant for a moment before nodding, staying back with Rory and Amy as the Doctor walked over to Joe.

"Hello," he greeted, "I'm the Doctor."

"You're going to die here," Joe replied, slightly dazed.

"Well, they certainly didn't mention _that_ in the brochure. Is Joe there? Can I have a quick word?" he moved to get a chair and sat across from Joe.

"Oh, it's still me, Doctor, but I've seen the light. I lived a blasphemous life, but he has forgiven my inconstancy, and soon...he shall feast."

' _When?_ ' he heard Evy ask in his mind, ' _Rita said they've been here for two days already._ '

He nodded, looking at Joe, "Well, you've been here two days, what's _he_ waiting for?"

"We weren't ready. We were still raw."

"But now you're what, cooked?"

"If you like. Soon you will be, too," the Doctor looked down, spotting a horseshoe tie clip and dice cufflinks on Joe's person, "Be patient. First...find your room."

"My _room_..."

"There's a room here for everyone, Doctor. Even you."

"You said you'd seen the light now," he changed the subject, feeling Evy's unease.

"Nothing else matters anymore. Only him. It's like these things," he turned his gaze on the dummies, "I used to hate them! They make me laugh now," he laughed at them, "Gottle o' geer! Gottle o' geer!" the dummies joined in before he sobered suddenly, "You should go. He'll be here soon."

The Doctor gave him a small smile, standing up and grabbing a hand dolly, sliding it under Joe's chair, "I think you should come with us."

~8~

Back in reception, Evy shut the music off once more as they stood around, her, Howie, and the mole behind the desk with Joe, who was still tied to the chair, the Doctor and the others on the other side, "Why did it take you?" Evy asked as she eyed the four who had been taken, "That's what I want to know."

"What does it matter?" the mole asked, "Sooner or later, someone will come along and rescue us. Or enslave us."

The Doctor shook his head at him, "First, we find the TARDIS. Quick thing before we go. If you feel drawn to a particular room, do _not_ go in, and make sure someone else can see you at all times."

"Joe said _he_ will feast," Rita said quietly, "Is there something here with us?"

Joe laughed and Evy looked at him, "What is it, Joe?"

"'Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chop, chop, chop, chop...'"

"Can we _do_ something about him?" Howie shouted as Joe just continued to laugh.

Evy sighed, "Come here Howie," she motioned him over, "I'll show you what people sometimes _wish_ they could do about the Doctor…"

~8~

The Doctor and Evy walked down a hall of the hotel, the mole pushing Joe, who now had his mouth taped shut, with Rita, Amy, Rory, and Howie following.

Evy slowed a moment, looking around with a frown, the halls had just shifted, they'd changed directions.

"Personally, I think you've got the right idea," the mole said to Joe, "Times like this, I think of my old school motto, 'Resistance Is Exhausting.'"

"I've worked out where we are," Howie told Rory.

"Hmm?" Rory looked over.

"Norway."

"Norway?"

"You see, the U.S. government has entire cities hidden in the Norwegian mountains. Earth is on a collision course with this other planet, and this is where they're going to send all the rich people when it kicks off."

"Amazing."

"It's all there on the internet."

"No, it's amazing you've come up with a theory even more insane than what's actually happening."

"Not quite," Evy called back, "In the year 421,000 it's Sweden not Norway."

Rory blinked, surprised at that, "The Earth collides with another planet in 421,000?"

"Oh no," she laughed, "It was just a scare, Earth ends up with a second moon though."

Rory shook his head at her, about to comment, when the door to Room 158 opened and a PE teacher stepped out, looking at the Doctor, "Hello!" the Doctor greeted.

"Have you forgotten your PE kit again?" the teacher eyed him, "Right, that's it, you're doing it in your pants!" he walked back in the room, shutting the door behind him.

Evy and the Doctor exchanged a look at that, when something caught Evy's attention out of the corner of her eye, "Howie don't!" she shouted as Howie reached for a door.

The Doctor ran over, trying to push Howie away but it was too late.

The door opened to reveal a group of young women, all beautiful, all laughing at Howie, "Oh, look, girls, it's H-H-H-Howie!" one mocked, making the others laugh.

"What's 'loser' in K-K-K-Klingon?" another asked him.

Howie stumbled back, "Shut the d-d...th-the door!" he shouted and the Doctor pushed it closed, "This is just some m-m-messed up CIA stuff, I-I-I'm telling you."

The Doctor put an arm around Howie's shoulder and patted him on the chest, "You're right, keep telling yourself that. It's a CIA thing, nothing more," before leading him off, down the hallway, with Rory and Evy.

He patted Howie once more and walked off ahead of them all, Evy moving to take his place beside the boy, "You alright?" she asked, seeing him looking back.

"Y-Yeah," he nodded.

She smiled at him understandingly, "How long has it been since you defeated your stutter?"

He looked at her, alarmed that she had caught that.

"You have a stutter?" Rory looked at him, not having noticed.

"Um, yeah," Howie said slowly, taking a breath, controling it, "Just got over it recently actually," he mumbled.

"Well then," Evy smiled, "What's 'winner' in Klingon?"

Howie looked at her a moment and smiled.

~8~

The Doctor ran his fingers along the wallpaper of the hallway, tapping on the light sconces as Evy scanned around them with her sonic, trying to get some sort of reading. But whatever it was that had put them there was masking the readings, scrambling them. The Doctor reached up and felt along the plaster that had been scraped off a low beam while Amy scooped up a few pieces of paper on the floor.

"Er...guys?" Rory called, seeing a fire exit from when he'd looked up from tying his shoe.

"Look," Amy walked over to the Doctor, when a growl sounded down the hall, making Joe strain in his bonds, "Ok, whatever that is, it's not real, yeah?"

"No, no, I'm sure it isn't," the Doctor tensed, his hand taking Evy's and pulling her down the hall, "But just in case, let's run away and hide anyway," he looked to his side and opened a random door, "In here," they ran in, Amy, Howie, and the mole with them while Rita pulled Joe into another room.

"No, this way!" Rory shouted, "I've found a..." he looked over, but the exit as gone.

"Rory, run!" Evy called, not letting the Doctor shut the door till Rory was with them.

"There was a..."

"Now!"

He got up and ran down the hall, into the room, only to stop short behind Amy and Howie. Evy gasped a bit as she turned, drawing the Doctor's attention, "Aiiee!" he shrieked, seeing two Weeping Angels before them.

"Don't...blink," Amy muttered, staring them down.

"What?" Howie looked confused.

The lights started to flicker and the mole cowered in the cupboard, the Angels changing positions, seeming more threatening, their arms reaching out.

"Get back!" the Doctor shouted, pulling Amy and Evy back.

Evy struggled with a frown, "Why are we still alive?"

The Doctor paused, seeing the logic in that. They, by rights, should have been displaced or dead by then. He cautiously stepped forward and put a finger through one, "They're not real," he realized, turning around, "Amy they're not real."

"What?" Amy asked, still unwilling to risk looking away.

"They're fast remember?" Evy turned to her, "They should have gotten us by now."

The Doctor stepped over to her, "Amy, look at me, focus on me. It's your bad dream, that's all."

"I don't even think they're for us," Rory remarked. He knew his wife, she had told him all about the Weeping Angel incident, what Evy had done. She wasn't _this_ afraid of the Angels.

As though to confirm his words, the mole screamed and slammed the cupboard door shut, hiding. Before the Doctor could move to check on him they heard a growling again, this time sounding as though it were right outside the door.

The Doctor slowly approached it, "Doctor, what are you doing?" Amy whispered.

"I'm sorry, I just have to see what it is," he told them, glancing at Evy, "I just have to see," she nodded and he moved to the peephole, looking through it. Evy glanced down at the crack of the door to see a shadow pass by, "Oh, look at you...you are beautiful."

Evy closed her eyes, seeing the image of the Minotaur-like beast outside in the Doctor's mind. A moment later it turned right at him and he jumped back with an, "Oh, dear."

Evy walked over and looked through the peephole as well, her frown growing more pronounced when she spotted Joe stagger into the hall, "Joe's free!" she gasped.

"Come to me!" Joe shouted, "Come to me. Praise him."

There was a scream and Evy jumped back, the Doctor throwing the door open and running into the hall, spotting Joe's body being dragged away, "Leave him alone!" he ran after them.

Amy moved to follow but Evy grabbed her arm, "No," she pulled her back, "We need to regroup," she told her, "Head back to the dining room and set up a stronghold."

"But…" Amy began.

"I'll tell the Doctor," Evy assured her, "We can't distract him by all getting lost trying to follow him."

Amy sighed, knowing the woman had a point, with the way the halls shifted, chances were one of them would end up getting separated. The Doctor would be able to find them through his Link with Evy, but if they lost any other member of their group...it wouldn't end well...

~8~

The Doctor ran through the maze of halls and back to the stairs, running up them, "Joe! Joe!" he ran down another hall but stopped short in a four way intersection, not sure which way to go.

' _Use the sonic,_ ' Evy called to him in his mind, ' _It should pick up Joe's trace at least._ '

He nodded, pulling it out and scanning each of the ways, "Joe!" the sonic beeped and he ran down one. He looked around, seeing Joe's cufflink on the carpet and picked it up. He slowly turned around to see Joe kneeling, propped against the wall, "Joe? Joe!" he walked over, "Joe! Joe, what happened?" but there was no response. He reached out and took Joe's face in his hands, turning it to face him. The Doctor let Joe's head rest back against the wall with a sad sigh.

~8~

The Doctor scanned Joe's body as it laid, stretched out, on a small dais in the dining room. Evy was sitting on a bar stool next to Amy, who sat on the bar, as Howie and Rory moved to block the doors, Rita having gone to the side room to try and find something for everyone to eat.

"If we can wedge a chair under the door handles, that should stop anything from getting in," Howie remarked as they wheeled a table towards the door.

"Help yourself to tea," Rita called as she entered with a tray of tea, "Guys, tea over here."

"If it's any consolation," Amy called to the mole as he sat at the table before them nervously, "I've met the Weeping Angels, so I know how...in fact, I thought that room was for me."

"Joe was right," he muttered, "Whatever it is in here, it actually wants to kill us. Not oppress us or enslave us, _kill_ us!"

Amy hopped off the bar and walked over to him, "Ok, listen..." she took a breath, "The Doctor and Evy have been part of my life for so long now, and they've never let me down. Even when I thought the Doctor had, when I was a kid and he left me, he came back, they _both_ came back, they...saved me," she felt someone put a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Evy smiling at her. She put her hand over Evy's and nodded, "And now they're going to save you."

Evy smirked a bit, whispering conspiratorially, "Dont you dare tell the Doctor she said that, with his ego...the smugness alone would be truly terrifying."

Amy laughed, nodding at that.

"Of course," the mole spoke up a moment later, "If the Weeping Angels _were_ meant for me, then _your_ room is still out there...somewhere."

Amy stiffened, alarmed at that.

"And so is mine," Evy added, squeezing Amy's shoulder.

Amy looked at her gratefully before Evy walked over to the Doctor, leaving Amy standing there when Rory walked over. They watched as Evy moved to the Doctor's side, his arm sneaking around her as Rita walked over with the tray of tea, "Every time the Doctor gets pally with someone, I have this overwhelming urge to notify their next of kin," Amy laughed at that, startling him, so much so that she gave him an odd look, "Sorry. The last time I said something like that, you hit me with your shoe. And you literally had to sit down and unlace it first."

Amy shook her head, "Every time Evy gets friendly with someone, I want to beat them away with a stick. I don't like people playing with my things."

Rory smiled, "Possessive eh?"

Amy simply nodded, "MY friends," she reached out and took Rory's hand, "MY husband…" he smiled softly at her, "You're lucky Jennifer turned out to be a crazy Ganger or I would have killed her myself…her and the siren."

Rory laughed at that.

~8~

Evy leaned over, covering Joe's body with a sheet, as Rita watched, "What _exactly_ happened to him?" she asked, holding up the tray for Evy who took two cups.

"He died," the Doctor replied, looking at his sonic.

"You are a _medical_ doctor, aren't you? You haven't just got a degree in cheese-making or something."

"No!"

"Yes," Evy turned to him with a pointed look as she handed him his cup.

"Well, both," he admitted, "But…I mean, there is no cause, all his vital organs simply stopped, as if the simple spark of life, his loves and hates, his faiths and fears were just..." he sniffed the cup of tea, "Taken...and this is a cup of tea."

"Of course, I'm British, it's how we cope with trauma," Rita nodded, "That and tutting."

Evy laughed, "How'd you make it?"

"All hotels should have a well stocked kitchen, even alien fake ones. I heard you talking when you arrived. Look, it's no more ridiculous than Howie's CIA theory or mi...or mine."

"What's yours?"

"This is Jahannam."

"You're a Muslim!" the Doctor realized.

"Don't be frightened."

"Ha! You think this is Hell?" he spit his tea back into the cup.

Evy sighed and took the cup from him, "Oh this is wine with Craig all over isn't it?" she muttered, putting it back on a table, out of the way.

Rita shook her head at his oddness, "The whole 80s hotel thing took me by surprise though."

Evy had to nod at her assessment, "As far as I can tell, none of those fears hiding in the rooms have anything to do with us...so why are they still here?"

"Maybe the cleaners have gone on strike."

The Doctor laughed, "Ha! I like you, you're a right clever clogs. But this isn't Hell, Rita."

"You don't understand, I say that without fear," Rita shook her head, "Jahannam will play its tricks, and there'll be times when I want to run and scream, but I've tried to live a good life, and that knowledge keeps me sane, despite the monsters and the bonkers rooms."

Evy frowned as she eyed Rita a moment. Something had been bothering her about Rita for a while now…of all of them, she was by far the calmest of her group. Almost _too_ calm.

"Gibbis..." Rita began after a moment, eyeing the mole man, "Is…is an alien, isn't he?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, "Sorry."

"Ok...I'm going to file that under 'Freak out about later.'"

"Doctor, look at this," Amy walked over to them with a handful of white notes, "I found it in a corridor, I completely forgot I had it," she handed them over and the Doctor tapped her on the head with them before turning to lean on a table, he read them quickly before handing them to Evy.

Evy raised an eyebrow at him, "I am not a woman," he said simply.

She looked down at the paper to see it was written by a girl named Lucy and rolled her eyes at him. He was always going for the dramatic, made sense he'd want her to read a woman's note in a woman's voice. She cleared her throat, "'My name is Lucy Hayward and I'm the last one left. It took Luke first. It got him on his first day, almost as soon as we arrived. It's funny. You don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it, then you realize it could never have been anything else. I just saw mine. It was a gorilla from a book I'd read as a kid. My God, that thing used to terrify me. The gaps between my worships are getting shorter, like contractions. This is what happened to the others...and how lucky they were. It's all so clear now. I'm so happy,'" she frowned, "'Praise him.'"

"Praise him," Howie repeated, so nonchalantly that the humans nearly missed it.

"What did you just say Howie?" Evy looked at him, alarmed.

Howie's eyes widened, "Nothing," he stood up, struggling, "Praise him!" he clapped his hands over his mouth.

"This is what happened to Joe!" Gibbis shouted.

"God, it's going to come for me now," Howie gasped as everyone started to talk at once.

"You'll lead it right here."

"We won't leave you," the Doctor told him, "I promise, you have my word."

"I don't want to get eaten!" Howie cried.

"Howie, calm down!" Amy tried.

"He's going to lead it right here!" Gibbis exclaimed.

Evy just rolled her eyes and held her sonic above her head, turning it on. Everyone stopped, putting their hands over their ears at the high-pitched noise.

The Doctor quickly tugged it out of her hand, shutting it off, and putting a hand to her stomach, "Mummy's sorry," he whispered to the baby, feeling it kick a bit, "She's just very cranky at the moment and the shouting isn't helping her."

"Oi!" Evy smacked him on the back of the head.

He popped up, rubbing it, "Ow," he mumbled.

"Don't you see?" Gibbis started up again, "He'll lead it right here!"

"What do you suggest?" Rita turned to him.

"Look, whatever it is out there, it's obviously chosen Howard as its next course. Now...tragic though that is, this is no time for sentiment. I'm saying, if it were to...find him, it may be satisfied and let the rest of us go. All I want to do is go home and be conquered and oppressed, is that too much to ask?" he plopped back down into his seat.

"It's ok, I'll stay with Howie. You take the others and go."

Evy frowned, watching Rita, still being the calmest of the humans...

"No," the Doctor said, cutting off her thoughts, "We stay together."

Evy nodded and walked over to Gibbis, "You know what my research told me about your planet?" she asked him as he looked at her, "Your civilization is actually one of the _oldest_ in the _galaxy_. And your cowardice, it's not cowardice, it's a sly and aggressive survival method. It's how that gene of gutlessness survived while so many others, so many brave, noble, wise, and powerful civilizations have perished. No, you're not ridiculous cowards, you're crafty rebels if I ever saw it," she stood up, "But not today."

"No one else dies today," the Doctor agreed, "Right?"

"Yes," Gibbis whispered.

The Doctor grinned, "Brilliant," he walked back over to Howie, putting an arm around his shoulders and leading him back to the table, "Howie, any second, it's going to possess you again. When it does, we're going to ask you some questions. Please try to answer them."

Howie nodded, sitting, as everyone joined him, "I hope my mum's alright, she's going to be w-worried."

"Howie..." Evy called, seeing Howie start to smile and sway, "Howie."

The Doctor looked at her and she nodded, he was possessed.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first this wasn't my favorite episode, but writing it out with the Professor and again with Evy, it's really grown on me :)
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor encounters his worst fear, but what is it? Will Evy find her room? The Doctor does something...drastic...


	18. The God Complex (Part 2)

The Doctor sighed and looked back at Howie, "Howie, you're next, we're all dead jealous, so tell us...how do we get a piece of the action? Why isn't he possessing all of us?"

"You guys have got all these distractions," he tapped his head, "All these obstacles. It'd be so much easier if you just let it go, you know, clear the path."

"You _want_ it to find you?" Amy frowned, "Even though you know what it's going to do?"

"Are you kidding? He's going to kill us all! How cool is that?!"

"Doctor," Evy called softly. He nodded, getting up as she stepped back, leading them over a few feet away to talk.

He rubbed his eyes a moment, "It's as I thought," he nodded, "It feeds on fear. Everything, the rooms, Lucy's note, even the pictures in reception, has been put here to frighten us. So we have to resist it. Do whatever you have to, cross your fingers, say a prayer, think of a basket of kittens, but _do not_ give in to the fear."

"Ok, but what are we actually going to do?" Amy asked him.

The Doctor looked at Evy, leaving it up to her. She took a breath, "Well...first things first...we've got to to catch ourselves a monster."

They couldn't leave whatever it was alone where it could do this to another set of travelers. Even if they were able to find the TARDIS and get the remaining survivors to safety, it wouldn't save anyone else. And she couldn't bare it if another set of humans or aliens died the way Joe had just because they didn't help.

~8~

"Bring me death!" Howie shouted, "Bring me glory! My master, my lord, I'm here!"

The Doctor looked around the hotel beauty parlor, catching sight of himself in a mirror before it shifted to Evy who had positioned another one to act as a set of viewing glasses.

"Come to me. I'm waiting here...for you. He has promised me a glorious death..."

He'd wanted her to wait with Rory outside, helping to lock the Beast in once Howie's voice had lured it there over the speaker system…but she refused. Stating that, whatever the Beast was, it was focused only on those it possessed, it wouldn't attack the ones not possessed, so she would be relatively safe.

"Give it to me now, I want him to know my devotion. Praise him."

Evy looked to the door, hearing the sound of something scraping on the low beams, before turning to the Doctor. She put a finger to her lips and walked over to him, pulling him back to a spot behind a water fountain feature, hiding.

"Praise...him."

The door opened and the minotaur entered the room. A second later the door was slammed shut and they could vaguely make out Amy and Rita on the other side, jamming the door, "Rory, he's in!" Amy shouted.

There was a shuffle by another door as Rory's blurry figure appeared and jammed that door as well.

The Doctor quickly shut off the lights as the Beast began to knock things over in its attempt to get out of the room.

"Let his name...be the last thing I hear. Let his breath on my skin be the last thing I feel..."

They watched as the Beast turned a chair around to reveal a speaker, growling as he spotted himself in the mirrors.

"I was lost in shadows, but he found me. His love was a beacon that led me from darkness to light, and now I am blinded by his majesty! Humbled by his glory! Praise..."

"Oh enough already," Evy muttered, flashing her sonic at the speaker by the wall.

"...him," and it turned off.

"Nothing personal," the Doctor called to the Beast, "Just think we should take things slowly. Get to know each other. You take people's most primal fears and pop it in a room. A tailor-made Hell, just for them. Why?"

Evy frowned, listening to the growls, "You said 'they' take, yes? Who're 'they?'"

"Ah, what is that word?" the Doctor muttered, "The guard? No, the warden?"

"Then...this is a...prison?" Evy looked around, a bit different from the prisons she'd seen.

"So, what are we?" the Doctor took Evy's hand, "Cell mates? Lunch? We are not...ripe?" he stepped out a bit, "That's what Joe said. That we weren't ready."

Evy moved cautiously with the Doctor over to the water feature, "And, what, _you_ make us ready? You...what's that? 'Replace?' You replace what though? ...fear? Alright, so what do you 'replace' it with?"

"You have lived so long, even your name is lost?" the Doctor listened to the growling, "You want this to stop. Because you are just...instinct. Then tell us. Tell us how to fight you."

"My master, my lord!" they heard Howie shout from the hallway, "I'm here! Bring me death!"

"No, no, no, no!" the Doctor yelled as the Beast swung at the water features, shattering the glass. The Doctor pulled Evy back.

"Rory, get back!" she shouted a warning as the Beast ran for his door.

Amy and Rita burst into the room from the doors behind them, "Stay back!" the Doctor called to them. The Beast shattered the window of Rory's door and ran out, "Pond, bring the fish!" the Doctor ran out.

"What, the fish?" Amy looked at Evy, confused, but she just pointed over to a bowl of fish on a small table beside them before she too ran out of the room, "Oh, the fish!"

"Where did he go?" she heard the Doctor ask as he knelt by Rory eho was knocked out on the ground.

"Somebody hit me," he mumbled, waking, "Was it Amy?"

The Doctor chuckled and ran off after the Beast while Evy took his place, "Just stay still a moment Rory," she murmured, scanning him with her sonic quickly to make sure he hadn't been too badly hurt. She glanced down the hall as the Doctor disappeared around a corner.

~8~

The Doctor ran down the stairs as fast as he could, through another hall, following the trace of his sonic, when he stopped short, seeing Howie's glasses on the floor.

~8~

"Oh Howie," Evy breathed, the Doctor reporting what he'd found. She slowly helped Rory to his feet.

"Rory, are you alright?" Rita asked as she and Amy ran out behind them, setting the bowl down.

~8~

The Doctor turned and ran down the hall.

~8~

"We should find the Doctor..." Amy said, trailing off when she spotted a door, Room 7. She stepped past Rory as Rita checked him over, walking towards it very slowly, reaching out for the knob. She peeked inside for only a moment, when the door slammed shut, Evy now in front of her.

"What did the Doctor say about not opening the doors Amy?" she said sadly, "What was in there?"

"Nothing," Amy shook her head, "Nothing. I don't know, it was weird."

Evy sighed, "Come on," she took Amy's arm and led her off, following where her senses were telling her the Doctor was.

~8~

The Doctor stopped, finding Howie, kneeling just like Joe, on the floor. He put the boy's glasses in his hand, gently patting his face. He looked up when Evy, Amy, Rory, and Rita appeared around the corner. He shook his head sadly at Evy, when something caught her gaze behind him. He looked back to see Gibbis appear at the other end of the hall.

"He got free," Gibbis lied, they knew it. He had been the only one left with the tied up Howie and the microphone, he had been the one calling for them to just let the Beast take the possessed, "He overpowered me," the Doctor just stood and strode back to the others, Gibbis following timidly after, "It might leave us alone now. Maybe now we'll be safe. Wait!"

~8~

The Doctor stood in the stairwell, looking at Howie's picture on the wall, when Rory and Evy joined him, the latter having scanned Howie's body, only to get the same results as Joe, "Have you found your room yet?" he asked Evy, concerned.

"No," she shook her head, "And I don't intend to look for it," he gave her a confused look, "I already know what my worst fear is Doctor and I have no desire to see it played out before my eyes."

He frowned, "What is it?"

"Losing two very, _very_ important people."

"Who?"

She just walked over to him and took his hand, placing it on her stomach as she looked at him meaningfully, "I have no desire to see what twisted way this building decides to show that."

He pulled her a little closer and kissed her forehead, resting his against hers a moment before looking at Rory, "What about you?"

"No, no," Rory shook his head, "Is that good or bad?"

"Maybe you're just too brave Rory," Evy gave him a little smile, "Takes more than a couple of bad dreams to scare you."

"Well, after all the time I spent with you two in the TARDIS, what was left to be scared of?"

The Doctor looked at him oddly, "You said that in the past tense."

"No, I didn't," he looked at the pictures, "You know, Howie had been in speech therapy. He'd just got over this massive stammer. What an achievement. I mean, can you imagine? I'd forgotten, not all victories are about saving the Universe."

~8~

Evy and the Doctor were heading for the stairs, when Rita walked up them, "Rita!" the Doctor smiled, "Brilliant! How are you? Not panicking, are you? Good, good. Because I am literally an otter's toenail away from getting us out of here."

"Why?" Rita asked.

"Excellent question," the Doctor praised, walking past her, "Excellent question."

He stopped short though when Evy tugged him back, not moving, "Why what?" she asked Rita with a small frown.

"Why is it up to you two to save us?" she elaborated, "That's quite a God complex you have there."

"Oh please don't stroke his ego by calling him a god," Evy mock groaned, "I can barely fit his head in the TARDIS as it is…"

"Oi!" the Doctor mock cried. He glanced to his right and saw Amy, placing the fish by a small table before walking off, and sighed, "We brought them here. They'd say it was their choice, but offer a child a suitcase full of sweets and they'll take it. Offer someone all of time and space and they'll take that too. Which is why you shouldn't. Which is why grownups were invented," he added, "Which is why I have Evy," he added before turning away.

"All of time and space, eh?" Rita called.

The Doctor turned back around, "Oh, yeah. And when we get out of this, I'll show you, too."

"I don't know what you're talking about. But I have a feeling you just did it again."

The Doctor grinned and looked at Evy who was frowning at Rita. His smile faded a bit, about to ask her what was wrong, when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye, a security camera, "Right down to the smallest detail. Got you, Mr. Minotaur," he squeezed Evy's hand and pulled her down the stairs.

Rita watched them go a moment before turning to the camera and closing her eyes, "Praise him," she whispered.

~8~

The Doctor ran down the hallway, looking for the security room. He had asked Evy to round up Amy and Rory while he looked so that she could lead them to him once he'd found it. However, his quest stopped for a moment when he heard a whisper, "Praise him. Praise him. Praise him," and looked to his left to see Room 11 calling to him.

He glanced back, looking up and down the hall before he walked over and slowly opened the door, peering inside. His eyes widened a bit at what lay beyond it, "Of course. What else?" he murmured, shutting the door and placing a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the back of it before heading off again.

He quickly checked the doors of a hallway, spotting a door marked 'Security' and grinned. He stepped in to see a panel of monitors displaying the hotel, "Oh, you beauty! Come on, big fella. Where are you?" his grin faded again, seeing Rita wandering about, "Rita, where are you going?"

' _Evy,_ ' he called to her, ' _You need to hurry._ '

' _On our way,_ ' she assured him as he picked up the phone and dialed.

"Come on, come on, come on," he muttered as Rita stopped in her trek and looked to one of the rooms. She glanced back at the camera a moment before entering the room, "Come on, come on," she picked up the phone, "Rita, where are you going? Can you take the phone into the corridor? Will it reach?" he watched as she walked back into the hall, "You started to praise it, didn't you?" he asked, realizing now what Evy had been concerned with before, he could feel it radiating off of her for Rita. Rita nodded, "Rita, come back. Please. We'll find a way to stop it, I swear to you."

Rita knelt down on the floor, "No, I need to get as far away from you all as possible."

"No, you don't. The creature only wants whoever's praising it."

"You'll put yourself in its way?"

"I'm coming to get you. Block out the fear and stay focused on your belief."

"The hotel will keep us apart. I could be 50 miles away by now. I want you to do me one last favor, Doctor. I can feel the rapture approaching, like a wave," the Doctor's gaze flickered to the bottom monitor, seeing the Beast walking past, "I don't want you to witness this. I want you to remember me the way I was."

"Doctor," Evy called as she, Rory, and Amy entered the room, but she stopped short, seeing Rita on the monitor, "Oh no…"

"What's going on?" Amy frowned, "Rita's disappeared. What's she doing there?"

"Rita," the Doctor pleaded, "Rita, please. Let me find you."

"You stay where you are," she ordered, "Please, let me be robbed of my faith in private."

"Look," Rory pointed at the Beast getting closer.

"Rita," the Doctor tried again, "Rita. Go into the room, lock the door."

She shook her head, "I'm not frightened. I'm blessed, Doctor. I'm at peace. I'm going to hang up."

"No, no, no, Rita."

"Goodbye, Doctor."

"Rita!"

"Thank you for trying."

"Rita, please!" Rita hung up, "Please! Please."

Evy stepped forward and put her hand on the Doctor's shoulder, taking the phone from him and setting it down. She put an arm around him as Rita stood in the middle of the hall, throwing her arms and head back as the Beast charged at her. She pulled her sonic out and flashed the monitor, shutting it off, they didn't need to see it.

~8~

Rita was laid down with Joe and Howie on the dais as Amy and Rory sat at the bar, listening to the Doctor shouting in a nearby room. He had started knocking things off the table but when Evy had begun to work on catching all of them with her powers and he quickly stopped, settling for screaming about the Beast and the unfairness and how he should have been better, should have noticed sooner…Evy just pulled him into a hug, letting him cry on her shoulder when he started to yell at himself, whispering to him that they _both_ should have been better, it wasn't just his burden any longer. He'd just gripped her tighter.

~8~

Amy and Rory were sitting at the end booth of the bar area while Gibbis was in the middle, the Doctor and Evy on the other end, "Ok," the Doctor took a breath, playing with Evy's fingers as he held her hand. More like she held his hand, trying to keep him from smacking himself in the forehead like he was so prone to do, "It preys on people's fear and possesses them."

"Rita wasn't afraid though," Evy added, helping him work through it, "She was rather brave and ridiculously calm."

He frowned, "Maybe it's something to do with the people, some connection between the four of them that'll tell us how to fight it."

"Yes," Gibbis rolled his eyes, "You keep saying that, but you never do. And while we wait, people keep dying. And we'll be next!"

"Look," Amy cut in, "They'll work it out, they always do. Just let Evy handle him riffing and move anything expensive out of his way."

"Oh, no," the Doctor realized, turning to Evy, whose mouth dropped open, seeing what he'd realized, "Oh, no, no."

"Doctor, what is wrong?"

The Doctor could only shake his head and look at Amy in horror, so Evy took his hand, "It's not after fear Amy," she breathed, "It wants _faith_. Any sort of faith."

The Doctor got up, Evy pushing herself up as well, as he started to pace. Knowing him, he'd try to hit himself in the forehead again, so she kept an eye on him as he started to explain it all quickly to his companions, "Howard believed in conspiracies, external forces controlling the world. Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe. He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose. Gibbis rejected personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to tell him what to do. They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them."

Evy nodded, still watching him, "That's what it replaces. Whenever you have to face the worst fear of your life, you always fall back on your primary faith."

The Doctor turned and fell back onto a barstool, rubbing his eyes, "And all this time, I've been telling you to dig deep. Find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith. Show them what they needed."

"It's not your fault," Evy walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I thought exactly as you did. I would have said the same thing," he reached out and put a hand on hers, squeezing it.

"But why us?" Rory frowned, "Why are we here?"

"It doesn't want us, especially not you," she looked at Rory, "It's why you kept seeing fire exits, it was giving you a way out because you're not religious or superstitious Rory, there wasn't any sort of faith to fall back on," she bit her lip a moment, "It wants Amy."

"Me?" Amy's eye widened as she got up and quickly moved over to them, "Why?"

"Your faith in me," the Doctor told her, "That's what brought us here."

"But why do they lose their faith before they die and start worshipping...it?" Rory asked.

The Doctor got up and walked over to Rory, Amy sitting down on the stool in shock as Evy put a hand on her arm, rubbing it in comfort, as he explained, "It needs to convert the faith into a form 'it' can consume. Faith is an energy, the specific emotional energy the creature needs to live. Which is why at the end of her note, Lucy said..."

"Praise him," Amy said.

"Exactly," the Doctor nodded, "OW!" he turned around to see Evy had whacked him, "What was _that_ for?"

"Amy," she said, turning to look at the girl, "She just said…"

The Doctor's eyes widened, realizing what Evy had.

"No," Rory shook his head, getting up, "Oh, please, no."

A roar sounded and they ran.

~8~

The small group ran through the winding corridors, the stomping of the Beast behind them as it gave chase. Amy suddenly stopped and turned to face it.

"Amy?" Evy called, getting Rory and the Doctor to stop.

"What are you doing?" Gibbis demanded.

"He is _beautiful_ ," Amy gasped, catching sight of the Beast at the end of the hall.

"Leave her! Just leave her!"

The Doctor and Rory ignored him, grabbing Amy's arms and pulling them over a shoulder as they dragged her down the hall, Evy and Gibbis following. The Doctor looked back at Evy, a reluctant look in his eye.

She nodded, catching his thoughts, his plan, and took the lead, "This way!" she called, opening the door to Room 7.

They ran in, only to see young Amelia Pond sitting on her suitcase, staring out the window, at the stars, waiting. Rory turned back to the door, trying to hold it shut against the Beast as Gibbis ducked between two beds, cowering.

Amy fell to her knees, "Doctor, it's happening. It's changing me," she looked up, alarmed, "Evy, it's changing my thoughts!"

The Doctor swallowed hard, kneeling beside her as Evy knelt across from her, "We can't save you from this," he told her, "There's nothing we can do to stop this."

"What?"

Evy reached out, taking the Doctor's hand, seeing how hard this was for him, "We stole your childhood," and she would not let him do it alone, if Amy was going to lose her faith in the Doctor, she would force the girl to lose her faith in _her_ as well, "And now we've led you, smiling and laughing all the way, to your death."

"But the worst thing is, I knew…" the Doctor began when Evy subtly whacked his knee, " _We_ knew this would happen," he would have smiled at Evy if the situation hadn't been so serious, that was so like her, having Amy give up her faith in the two of them when she could have kept her faith in Evy at least, knowing it wasn't quite as strong as her faith in him. But if there was one thing Evy had drilled into him, it was that she would never let him feel alone, because he wasn't any more, whatever came up they would do together. But now...he shook his head, he couldn't think on that now, "This is what _always_ happens."

The Beast shoved against the door, throwing Rory back, Evy looked back at Amy quickly, "You need to forget your faith in us Amy."

"We took you with us because we were vain," the Doctor said frantically as the Beast growled, "Because we wanted to be adored. And look at you. Glorious Pond. The girl who waited for me. But I'm not a hero."

"Neither of us are," Evy smiled at her a bit, stroking her hair.

"I really am just a madman in a box with his Link. And it's time we saw each other as we really are. Amy _Williams_ ," they glanced back at the Beast as it fell back into the hall, "It's time to stop waiting," he nodded, seeing the Beast collapse and stood, holding out a hand to help Evy up as they walked into the hall. They slowed, watching the Beast, as the lights began to flicker.

Evy stepped forward and knelt by the Beast, stroking it in comfort, "We've cut off your food supply," she whispered to it so Amy wouldn't hear and realize what they'd done, how untrue everything they'd said was and find her faith in them again, "We sacrificed her faith in us so you could have the time to die."

The room shifted, disappearing to a black room with a light grid floor, an instrument panel running a few feet away.

"What is it, a Minotaur?" Amy asked, uncomfortable, as she stood, "Or an alien? Or an alien Minotaur? That's not a question I thought I'd be asking this morning."

"It's both, actually," the Doctor said, watching Evy, unwilling to leave her with the creature even in its death. She held out a hand and he helped her up.

She looked around and walked over to the panel, "There we are," she tapped a few keys in and read the reports as the golden letters drifted by on the screen, "Oh, it's a distant cousin of the Nimon."

"Ah yes," the Doctor nodded, "They descend on planets and set themselves up as gods to be worshipped. Which is fine, until the inhabitants get all secular and advanced enough to build bonkers prisons."

"Correction," Rory called as he looked through a porthole at the planets below them, "Prisons in space."

"Where are the guards?" Amy looked around.

"They don't need any," Evy shook her head, frowning at the screen, "It's an automated shipt that just drifts through space, picking out people with a belief system strong enough to convert their faith into food."

"It didn't want just me," Amy said quietly to them after a moment of staring at symbols she couldn't read, "So, you must believe in some god or someone, or they'd have shown you the door too. So, what do Time Lords pray to?"

The Doctor and Evy just exchanged a look, they believed in each other and that was more than enough.

The Doctor cleared his throat, turning back to the screen, "According to the in-flight recorder, the program developed glitches. It got stuck on the same setting, the fears from the people before us weren't tidied away."

The Beast growled and Amy gasped, turning around, almost forgetting it was there, "What's it saying?"

"'An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space through an endless, shifting maze,'" the Doctor translated as he walked back to the Beast, kneeling down beside it as Evy stood by Amy. She wasn't going to kneel down again, especially when, because of her size, it took such effort to get back up, "'For such a creature, death would be a gift,'" he reached out and put a hand on the Beast's hoof, "Then accept it. And sleep well."

The Doctor stood and walked towards them when the Beast growled again. He stopped, tense, shocked.

Amy frowned and looked at Evy to see her looking sad and gave her a questioning look, "'I wasn't talking about myself,'" she translated before walking over to the Doctor, pulling him into her arms and hugging him as close as her stomach and the baby would allow. They stayed like that for a few moments before the Doctor reluctantly pulled away, his arm around her waist as he led her to the TARDIS, sitting a few feet away.

"Could I have a lift?" Gibbis asked as Rory did the same to Amy, "Just to the nearest galaxy would do."

The Doctor silently unlocked the TARDIS and they stepped in.

~8~

Evy smiled as she stepped out of the TARDIS, looking at the row of colorful townhouses across from a park. Her gaze landed on a soft blue one with a royal blue, TARDIS-colored door, a classic red Jaguar car parked before it.

"Don't tell me," Amy said, stopping beside her, "This isn't Earth, that isn't a real house, and inside lives a goblin, who feeds on indecision."

"Nope," the Doctor smiled as he and Rory stepped beside their girls, "Real Earth, real house," he tossed her a set of keys, "Real door keys!"

Amy's eyes widened, "You're not serious?"

Evy just smiled and nodded, "And not just the house…"

"The car too?!" Rory's mouth dropped open as they walked towards the car, "But...that's my favorite car. How did you know that was my favorite car?"

"You showed me a picture of it once and said," the Doctor said, before mimicking Rory, "'That's my favorite car,'" he tossed Rory the car keys.

"Rory," Amy pulled him to the side a moment, "Can you give us two minutes? Two minutes?"

Rory turned and put an arm around the Doctor, pulling him away, "She'll say we can't accept it because it's too extravagant and we'll always feel a crippling sense of obligation," he looked at the car over his shoulder, "It's a risk I'm willing to take!" he patted the Doctor on the shoulder before hugging Evy, the girl holding on for a moment longer than normal before he walked off into the house, not letting the car out of his sight till he was inside.

Amy turned and leaned against the bonnet of the car, patting the spot next to her, "Hey," she smiled as the Doctor leaned next to her, Evy standing before them, her hand lightly resting on her stomach, "So...you're leaving, aren't you?"

"You haven't seen the last of us," the Doctor reassured her, "Bad Penny is my middle name! Seriously, the looks I get when I fill in a form..."

"I _begged_ him not to fill out the first form with that name," Evy told her seriously, "But he was sloshed and didn't listen. Thought it would be fun to have a legal name on Earth like me…" she shook her head fondly, smiling at the memory.

Amy's small smile faded, "Why now?"

The Doctor sighed, "Because you're still breathing."

"Well, I think this is about the washing up, personally."

They all laughed sadly before the Doctor pushed off the car and took Evy's hand, tugging her back to the TARDIS, "I mean, you're right, there's still heaps of stuff out there to look at. Do you know, there's a planet whose name literally translates as 'Volatile Circus?'" he opened the door, when Evy stopped.

"Or maybe you've got a much more important and equally terrifying adventure in there," she nodded to the house.

Amy looked over her shoulder a moment, before turning back to them, "Even so, it can't happen like this," she walked over to them, "After everything we've been through," she shook her head, "You can't just drop me off at my house and say goodbye like we shared a cab."

The Doctor shook his head, "And what's the alternative? Us standing over your grave? Over your broken body? Over Rory's body?"

Amy nodded slowly, she could see how he felt. She took a breath and hugged him, "If you bump into my daughter, tell her to visit her old mum sometime," she turned to Evy, hugging her as well.

"Look after Rory," Evy whispered to her.

"Look after you," she told them both, reaching out to squeeze their hands once more. The Doctor nodded and took Evy's hand, walking back to the TARDIS. They stopped in the doorway, waving back to Amy as she laughed and cried, waving to them, "Bye."

They closed the doors and a moment later the TARDIS disappeared just as Rory stepped out of the house with four glasses in one hand, a bottle of champagne in the other and a water bottle tucked under his arm, "What happened?" he frowned, "What're they doing?"

Amy turned to him, "They're saving us," she whispered as they looked up at the sky.

~8~

"What's wrong?" Evy asked, seeing the Doctor walking purposefully around the console. She could sense regret, fear, and heartbreak through the Link, but he was hiding his thoughts. He looked up at her with an expression of such reluctance that she could feel a pit form in her stomach, "Doctor…" she frowned, before she realized something, "You found your room, didn't you?" he swallowed hard and looked away, confirming her fears, "What was it?" he shook his head and she walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Theta," he looked at her, "Show me."

He looked into her eyes a moment, she couldn't help but feel like he was trying to memorize her face, before he pulled her into a tight hug. She hugged him back, feeling him open his mind just a bit and gasped, seeing what he saw. It had been his dream, the one he'd had after he found out she was pregnant, but this time…instead of her eyes looking at him blankly, dull and dead, they were accusing, blaming him for it all.

"And that's why I have to do it," he whispered in her ear.

She pulled away, startled, "Do what?" she asked, her voice shaking, fear rising up in her.

His eyes filled with tears as he gave her a sad smile, reaching out to push a strand of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek gently, "I love you Luna," was all he whispered before pulling a lever on the console, activating the teleport.

He stood there a moment longer, staring at the spot she'd just been standing in, before he turned and fell backwards, leaning against the console, folding in on himself as he stood in the darkened control room, alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh snap! What has the Doctor done?!
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor is wearing thin. How will he cope seeing Alfie after sending Evy away? Where did he even send her? Do Amy and Rory know what he's done?


	19. Closing Time (Part 1)

The door flew open to reveal Craig standing there, looking rather stressed, as he shouted, "I'm coping on my own!"

The Doctor mustered a tired grin at the man, "Hello, Craig! I'm back!"

Craig looked at him a moment, stunned, "She didn't? How could she phone you?"

"How could who phone me?" the Doctor asked him, "Nobody phoned me," he swallowed hard, he'd cut the lines to the TARDIS, put massive firewalls around the mainframe so that no partially living viruses from Torchwood could reach him, even had the TARDIS erect psychic barriers before the box stopped speaking to him entirely in protest to what he'd done to…he shook his head, "I'm just…here," he peered past him, needing something to distract him, only to see a different inside than the last time he'd visited with…he shook his head again, not wanting to think about it, about who he'd been with the last time, "You've redecorated! I don't like it."

"It's a different house, we moved."

"Yes, that's it."

"Doctor, what are you doing here?" Craig asked, eyeing him. The Doctor was paler than he remembered, his face more drawn, his forehead was crinkled as well, as though his brow was perpetually furrowed, and the lines around his mouth made him feel like the man rarely smiled anymore. He shook his head, that had to be impossible, especially when…

"Doctor, where's Evy?" he asked, realizing the woman who had been the source of the Doctor's smiles the last time wasn't there, "Is she in the TARDIS?"

"No," the Doctor said quickly, "No, visiting some other friends of ours," he supplied.

It was close enough to the truth. He'd teleported Evy out of the TARDIS with the beam locked onto Jack's Vortex Manipulator. Wherever he was, was wherever Evy had gone. An immortal time agent was really the only person he trusted to keep her completely safe…that had been nearly 200 years ago…almost 200 years without her…and it had taken its toll on him.

The nightmares alone were enough to force him awake. All the dreams and misery he'd endured since the Time War began, everything that faded away when Evy was around, had come back twice as strong. He barely slept anymore, forcing himself to stay awake long enough for his body to just shut down, dropping into a coma of sorts so he wouldn't dream, of her, of the hurt look in her eyes the moment he hit the teleporter, when she worked out what he was doing. He didn't eat much either, probably having gotten very lean from all the running and less food. Evy had always loved cooking and would often make them their meals, and then laugh when he ended up getting it all over his face somehow. He hadn't told her, but he suspected she knew, he partially did it on purpose, just so he could hear her laugh. So that, when she moved to wipe his face, he could pull her into a quick kiss. He hadn't really gone into the kitchen for more than a few minutes to make a quick snack. And he knew, if Evy was there, she'd be smacking him for not taking better care of himself.

But how could he help it? She had become such an integral part of his life. Everything he did, every thought, every action, revolved around her, much like hers did him. To be without her…to force himself to be without her…it _killed_ him inside. He buried himself in searching out the Silence and Madame Kovarian, in random adventures that cropped up along the way. For those brief moments, when he was immersed in running from a danger or solving a problem, he could not think of her. But then…as soon as it was over, as soon as the adrenaline had worn off, he'd start to think she would have figured it out before him, come up with a better solution, an impossible solution. And he would be back to thinking of her, as he so often did.

It _hurt_. It hurt _so much_ to open the TARDIS doors and not see her smiling face. To lie in his bed and not have her beside him. He'd taken to falling asleep on the floor of the control room or on the jump seat. _Every moment_ he wondered if she was ok, regretted sending her away, wished he could go find her and bring her back…only to chastise himself that she was safer _away_ from him than _with_ him especially with the Silence after him. But, honestly, he didn't know how much longer that could last.

He was a selfish man. He was nearing the point where he'd rather have Evy with him, in danger, than apart from him. And he knew Evy would give him hell about it, that it wasn't his choice to make whether she stayed. That he wasn't being selfish if _she_ wanted to be there, beside him. He'd avoided coming to Earth unless it was a dire necessity because he knew there was a strong chance he'd snap and seek her out, crawl on his hands and knees, begging for her forgiveness, for her to come home…the urge was getting stronger each time he set foot on the planet. He'd nearly gone to Cardiff last time, just to look around, perhaps subconsciously hoping that he might run into her and Jack. He also knew the moment he saw her again, that would be it. He wouldn't be able to stay away, to keep back, to turn back to the TARDIS and run, he wouldn't be able to say no to her if she wanted to come back.

_If_ she wanted to come back.

It was a thought that haunted him. What if he'd pushed her too far? What if she really _did_ hate him after what he'd done? What if she didn't want to be with him anymore? If he had pushed her to that…he would willingly and happily go to the Lake on the date of his death and the time and face whatever was going to kill him as his very next trip. Life wouldn't be worth living if Evy hated him.

"Then why are you here?" Craig asked him, not sure why the two were separated.

The Doctor looked up, snapped out of his dark thoughts, "Social call. Thought it was about time I tried one out as well. Everyone always goes on about how I don't pick up a phone, so thought I'd drop by. How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"This is the bit where I say. 'I'm fine, too' isn't it?" he offered a tense smile Craig could see right through, "I'm fine, too," he most certainly wasn't and they both knew it, "Good. Love to Sophie, bye!" he turned around, he _really_ needed to leave, being on Earth for a dire emergency was one thing…to be here just to be here…it was far too tempting with nothing else to focus on besides…

He looked up as the light above the front door began to flicker.

"Something's wrong!" he was grasping at straws and he knew it. But anything at all to keep him from going straight to the TARDIS and flying to Cardiff he would hold on to for dear life. He turned and ran into the house as Craig shut the door behind him. He pulled out his sonic and started to scan the hall, heading up the stairs as the beeping got stronger, "On your own, you said. But you're not...you're _not_ on your own!"

"Just, shh!" Craig hissed, following him.

"Increased sulphur emissions. And look at the state of this place. What are you not telling me?"

"Doctor, please! "

"Shh!"

"No, you shh!"

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

"No, you shh!"

Craig frowned as he eyed the Doctor, he seemed almost manic as he turned and headed to a bedroom door, "Doctor!" he lunged forward to stop him, but the Doctor threw the door open and rushed into the nursery they'd set up for their baby boy.

"Whatever you are, get off this planet!" he shouted, his sonic aimed and ready.

The baby, lying innocently in his crib, started to cry as Craig rushed over to him, "Oh, you've woken him!"

The Doctor slowly lowered his sonic, staring at the baby in shock. His mind flashed to thoughts of Evy and their child…for all he knew the baby could have been born by now and he wouldn't know. Was it a boy? A girl? Did it look like him? Have Evy's nose? His chin? Her eyes? He swallowed hard and looked away as Craig tried to shush the baby.

He missed them both so much.

~8~

The Doctor closed the freezer door and turned to Craig as the man stood in the middle of the kitchen with the baby, "So when you say on your own..."

"Yes, I meant on my own with the baby, yes," he nodded, laughing tensely, "'Cos no one thinks I can cope on my own. Which is so unfair. Because...I can't cope on my own with him! I _can't_. He just cries. All the time. I mean, do they have off switches?"

The Doctor sat down at the table and grabbed the first book he could find to try and avoid looking at the baby, "Human beings? No. I've checked," he frowned, seeing the book was one on pregnancy and quickly shut it, looking for a different book. The last thing he needed were more reminders of Evy, another stabbing of guilt.

Craig put the baby into a highchair, "No, babies."

"Same difference. Sometimes this works though," he turned and put his finger to his lips, "Shh."

Craig stared in shock as the baby quieted down, "Can you teach me to do that?"

The Doctor looked down, now opening one of the baby books, the ones you'd read a baby, the funny little stories, and, figuring it was safe enough, started to read that instead, "Probably not."

"Oh, please come on, I need _something_ , I'm rubbish at this."

"At what?"

"Being a dad. You read all the books, they tell you you'll know what to do if you follow your instinct. I have _no_ instinct! That's what this weekend's about, trying to prove to people I can do this one thing well."

The Doctor winced. He could remember when he was a father, back on Gallifrey, for that one brief moment. He remembered reading those books, going to classes with Riku, the excitement he felt at the prospect of being a father…how it all crashed down around him and how he'd been given a second chance with Evy. He could empathize with Craig, in his mind, he hadn't done anything right with Evy for this pregnancy and most likely wouldn't be able to do anything well for their child when it was born. Yes, they were better off without him.

He shook his head, forcing himself to laugh at something in the book, before closing it and looking at Craig, wanting desperately to change the subject from the shortcomings of fathers, "So what did you call him? Will I blush?"

"No, we didn't call him 'the Doctor!'"

"No, I didn't think you would."

"He's called Alfie. What are you doing here anyway?"

The Doctor didn't reply as he leaned over to listen to Alfie gurgle while Craig turned to make tea, "Yes, he likes that, Alfie. Though personally he prefers to be called Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All."

"Sorry, what?"

"That's what he calls himself," he remarked, his mind vaguely drifting to what name his child might pick, one day, for itself. Hopefully it wouldn't be Dark Lord of anything…and then he recalled, he wouldn't be there to hear it. He looked down a moment, feeling the temptation return, he'd be missing out on _so much_ of his child's life if he stayed away.

"How do you know that?" Craig frowned, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I speak Baby," he stood up.

"Of course you do! I don't even know when his nappy needs changing!" he collapsed into a chair, " _I'm_ the one supposed to be his dad."

"Oh, yeah," the Doctor trailed a moment before speaking softly what Alfie had asked, "He's wondering where his mum is?" he swallowed the lump in his throat, thinking that his child was probably asking Evy where its dad was…he shook his head and massaged Craig's shoulders if just for _something_ to do, "Where _is_ Sophie?"

"Gone away with Melina for the weekend. Needs a rest."

"No," he turned to Alfie, "He's your _dad_ , you can't just call him 'Not-Mum.'"

"Not-Mum?"

"That's you. Also, Not-Mum, that's me. And everybody else is..." he leaned closer to listen to Alfie, "Peasants. That's a bit unfortunate," he smiled softly as he tickled Alfie's head.

"What are you here for?"

He sighed, "I just popped in to say hello."

"And next door, both sides, they're humans. Is it the fridge? Are there aliens in my fridge?"

"I just want to see you, Craig! Cross my hearts," he used each hand to cross a heart, even though he knew it was a lie, he needed the distraction, someone to see so he wouldn't fly off to Cardiff, "I've been knocking about on my own…" Craig frowned at that, "A farewell tour. One last thing, popping in to see you, then I'm off to the Alignment of Exedor..."

It was another lie, he hadn't been on an adventure of his own choosing in centuries, only stopping anywhere if it might lead him to learn more about the Silence. Exedor, though, was one of the trips he and Evy had been talking about taking Amy and Rory to ages ago…it was the first thing that popped into his head.

"The Alignment of Exedor?"

"17 galaxies in perfect unison. Meant to be spectacular, I can't miss it. Literally _can't_. It's locked in a time stasis field, I get one crack at flying my TARDIS straight into it, if I got my dates right," he looked at a newspaper, "Which I have."

He frowned, looking at the date, two weeks. It had been two weeks since he'd sent Evy off, the TARDIS had still been set for the same day and year he'd landed to give Amy and Rory their house. Two weeks ago. Two weeks for Evy, two hundred years for him...

"That's a surprise," Craig remarked, thinking back to what he'd learned about the Doctor from his memories last time, "Usually it's Evy that has to correct your dates."

"Yes well…" he looked away, "I'm 1103, had quite a few centuries to get it right…" he trailed off, spotting something on the paper before picking it up again, "So this is me popping in and popping out again. Just being social, just having a laugh," he frowned at the paper, "Never mind that."

"Never mind what?"

"Nothing."

Craig stood up, "No, you noticed something. You've got your noticing face on. I have _nightmares_ about that face. And Evy isn't here to smack it off you!"

The Doctor put a hand over his face and spun around, "Nope, given up all that, done with noticing things," it was when he noticed things that it got dangerous for those around him. The lights flickered, "Didn't even notice that, for example. Got to go. Good seeing you, Craig," he shook Craig's hand, "Goodbye, Stormageddon," he gave two air kisses to Alfie's cheeks as he started fussing before walking away towards the front of the house.

"No, no, wait, wait, could you do the shushing thing? Shh."

"No, it only works once, and only on life forms with underdeveloped brains."

"Hang on, you said on your own, but what about Evy? And farewell tour? What do you mean, farewell?"

The Doctor spun around "Shh..."

Craig looked alarmed as he found himself unable to speak.

~8~

The Doctor walked briskly down the street, talking to himself, much like he'd begun doing recently. He could almost fool himself into thinking that Evy was right behind him and he was talking to her instead, that she'd be about to give him her opinion, help him work through it. Some times.

"Just go," he mumbled, "Stop noticing. Just go! Stop noticing! Just go. Stop noticing. Just go. Stop it!" he shouted, seeing a streetlight flicker, "Am I noticing? No, no I am not. And what I am not doing is scanning for electrical fluctuations," he scanned the area with his sonic, "Oh, shut up you! I'm just dropping in on a friend, the last thing I need right now is a patina of teleport energy, I'm going. Going! Not staying. Going. I am through saving them," he turned and rested his head on the TARDIS door, "I'm going away now," he closed his eyes and let out a breath.

If he went away right now it would be to Cardiff to see if these power fluctuations were there as well…to see if Evy was safe. He scrunched his eyes shut more, his brow furrowing as he banged his head against the door a moment, no. No, he'd stay, he'd stay and stop whatever was causing these fluctuations, because then…then Evy would be safe and he could leave Earth once more.

He stepped back and reached into his pocket, pulling out a medallion, a necklace he'd made to replace the one Evy had given to his Ganger some adventure back. They'd been so caught up with trying to find Amy, and then track down Melody, and then he'd been so focused on watching out for Evy and the baby after Berlin that he hadn't gotten a chance to give it to her. He'd been planning on doing so when they'd taken Amy and Rory to Exedor, but that never happened. It had been in his pocket after they'd dealt with the Minotaur, Exedor being their next adventure...he'd kept it. He couldn't give it to her, couldn't send her off with it, he'd have nothing of hers with him then. Her necklace, the necklace meant for her, was all he had left.

He looked down at it, tracing the pattern with his finger, before quickly kissing it and putting it back into his pocket. He pulled the door to the TARDIS open and went in to scan for the source of the fluctuations.

~8~

The Doctor stood before a group of children in the toy department of a large warehouse store. He smiled sadly at the children before him as he demonstrated the toy helicopter to them, "It goes up-tiddly up, it goes down-tiddly down-down! For only 49.99 pounds, which I think is a bit steep but then again it's your parents' cash and they'll only waste it on boring stuff like lamps and vegetables, yawn!" he looked up when he heard the doors open to see Craig enter, talking on the mobile to Sophie as he pushed Alife in a pram.

"Yeah, Soph...just enjoy your holiday! Yeah, coping."

He looked up sharply when the control jerked to see the helicopter whizzing madly, "Nobody panic, but I appear to be losing control."

"Yeah, love you," Craig finished, right when the helicopter flew straight into his forehead.

The Doctor stepped back, sitting on the display table, "Oops," he knelt before the children and gathered them around, "Guys, guys, ladies and gentlemen, while I deal with this awkward moment you go and find your parents/guardians! Try in lamps!" he gave one little girl a high-five as she passed, the others leaving to find their parents, before he stood and greeted, "Craig!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Craig pushed the pram over to him.

"I'm the Doctor, I work in a shop now," he grinned, "Here to help. They gave me a badge," he pointed to the one on his chest reading 'The Doctor,' "With my name on in case I forget who I am, very thoughtful, as that does happen."

"You were leaving...the alignment of Exeter, what about that? One chance to see it, you said."

"Well, I was on my way, saw a shop, got a job, you got to live in the moment, Craig," he turned away, "Mind Yappy."

"What?"

"Yappy," he turned back, holding up a flimsy mechanical dog, "The robot dog. Not so much fun as I remember. You look awful!"

"I haven't slept, have I? I still can't stop him crying. I even tried singing to him last night."

"Yeah," he glanced down at Alfie, "He did mention that...he thought you were crying, too. He didn't get a wink. Yappy, say goodbye to Craig and Stormageddon," he held up the dog, pretending to be it, "Goodbye, Craig, goodbye, Stormageddon," he set the toy down, when something dashed across the floor at the other end of the department, "What was that?" he rushed down the aisle.

"You're here for a reason, aren't you? You noticed something, and you're investigating it," the Doctor dropped to his hands and knees, looking for something, "Because it's you, it's going to be dangerous and alien and Evy's not here to help you!"

The Doctor stood, "It might not be."

"Doctor, I _live_ here, I need to know!"

"No, you don't."

" _My baby_ lives here, my son."

The Doctor sighed and pointed to a newspaper, "Sheila Clark, went missing Tuesday. Atif Ghosh, last seen Friday. Tom Luker, last seen Sunday."

Craig frowned and picked it up, "Why's that not on the front page?"

"Page one has an exclusive on Nina, a local girl who got kicked off Britain's Got Talent. These people are on pages 7, 19, 22," he started walking again, this time pushing the pram as Craig followed, "No one's noticed yet, they're far too excited about Nina's emotional journey, which in fairness, is quite inspiring."

"And what else?"

"These funny old power fluctuations...which just happen to coincide with the disappearances."

"That's just the council, putting in new cables. Isn't it?"

The Doctor stopped in front of a lift with yellow construction tape strapped across it, "Oh, yes, that's it, mystery solved, oh, wasting my time, now you can go home and," he soniced it, "I can go to Exedor, goodbye, and here's a lift."

Craig frowned, that sounded just a bit more snippy than sarcastic. He chose not to comment on it, he could see the bags under the Doctor's eyes, whatever it was he wasn't telling, it was something that was eating him up inside. He glanced at the lift, "It says out of order."

"Not anymore," he ripped off the tape, "See? Here to help."

The lift doors opened and the Doctor started to push the pram in, when Craig took over, "It says, 'danger.'"

"Oh, rubbish, lifts aren't dangerous," the Doctor remarked.

Craig frowned, this was not like the Doctor he'd met last time. When the dangerous man upstairs was around the Doctor was all caution, he seemed to not care about himself or what happened as much as he had. So, he determined, it was up to _him_ to keep the Doctor safe…at least until Evy got there, "Do I look like I'm stupid?"

Alfie gurgled and the Doctor hushed him quickly, "Quiet, Stormy! Oh, alright, there's more," the lift closed and the Doctor soniced the panel, "Just between you, me, and Stormy, don't want to frighten my punters. Someone's been using a teleport relay, right here in this shop. Missing people last seen in this area," he put his finger on Craig's lips to keep him silent, "Before you ask, CCTV's been wiped."

"A teleport?" Craig's eyes widened as he stammered out, "A teleport? Like a beam me up teleport, like you see in Star Trek?"

"Exactly. Someone's been using a beam me up Star Trek teleport. Could be disguised as anything."

"But a _teleport_? In a _shop_? That's ridiculous!" the lights flickered, and they were no longer on the lift, though Craig didn't seem to have noticed, "What was that? Was that the lights again?"

"Yes, that's it," the Doctor said, his voice squeaky, as he noticed what had happened, "That's all, it's the lights."

"Why did you say that like that?"

"Like what?" he asked, his voice still high before it returned to normal, "Like…like what?"

"Like that, in that high-pitched voice."

"Just keep looking at me, Craig. Right at me, just keep looking."

"Why?"

"Well, because…because…because..." Craig moved to turn but the Doctor grabbed his arms, pulling him back to face him, "I love you."

"You love me?!"

"Yes, Craig. It's you. It's always been you. "

"Me?"

The Doctor put his arms around Craig's shoulders, trying to hide the sonic from him, "Is that so surprising?"

"But…but what about Evy?" he asked. The Doctor winced but gave no reply, leaning closer to try and see the sonic over his shoulder, "Doctor, are you going to kiss me?"

"Yes, Craig. Yes, I am. Would you like that? Bit out of practice, but I've had some wonderful feedback," he puckered up.

"Doctor, no, I can't, I'm taken...you're taken!" he turned around, only to see a ship behind him, "Oh, my God!"

"Or we could just hold hands if it makes you feel more comfortable?"

"What is happening?"

The Doctor tensed, seeing a Cyberman appear in a doorway ahead of them, "Well, first of all, I don't really love you, except as a friend."

"And what is that?" Craig pointed as the metal man advanced.

The Doctor quickly flashed the sonic on the machinery, sending them back to the lift just as the Cyberman reached the spot they'd been in, "Quick reverse!" the Doctor hit a button on the panel.

"What the hell just happened?"

The lift opened and the Doctor strode out, followed by Craig pushing Alfie, "They must have linked the teleport relay to the lift, but I've fused it! They can't use that again. Stuck up there on their spaceship."

"What were those things?"

"Cybermen."

"Ship? Spaceship? We were in space?"

The Doctor stepped outside and looked up at the sky, scanning it with the sonic, "It's got to be up there somewhere, can't get a fix, it must be shielded."

"You fused the teleport. You sorted it. They can't come back."

"I've just bought myself a little time. Still got to work out what they're doing before I can stop it."

"Well you better call Evy then," Craig nudged him, "She could help you more than I can."

"Craig..." the Doctor looked at him, "Take Alfie and go."

"No!"

"No?"

"No, I remember from last time, people got killed, people that _didn't_ know you. I know where it's safest, for me and Alfie. And that's right next to you."

"Is that so?"

Craig nodded, "Even more when Evy's here, you always win, you always survive!"

The Doctor's small smile started to fade into a sad one as he thought on Evy, "Those were the days."

Craig frowned, seeing the distant look on his face, "I can help you a little though and that's something, I'm staying."

"Craig..." he shook his head, "Craig, alright, alright...maybe those days aren't _quite_ over yet. Let's go and investigate...I mean, there's no immediate danger now," he winced a moment, tensing. Craig looked at him oddly and he could only shake his head. That happened from time to time, him saying something he _knew_ Evy would smack him for and wincing on instinct…

God he missed her.

~8~

They entered the jewelry department, walking through, when the Doctor greeted an older woman at the counter, "Good afternoon Val."

"Hello," she waved at him.

The Doctor started to walk over to her when Craig grabbed his arm, "Where am I investigating?"

"Well, look round. Ask questions. People like it when you're with a baby, babies are sweet, people talk to you. That's why I usually take a human with me."

"So I'm your…baby?"

"You're my baby!" he laughed tensely, hugging Craig as Val smiled, watching. Craig nodded and walked off with Alfie as the Doctor headed over to Val, scooping up a pair of sunglasses to test out.

"Hope you don't mind me saying, Doctor, but I think you look ever so sweet, you and your partner and the baby," Val smiled.

"Partner," he nodded, thinking of Craig. In his mind, Val's words didn't even register, the only one he could call a true partner was Evy and clearly she wasn't speaking of her so she had to be referencing his newest pseudo-companion, "Yes, I like it. Is it better than 'companion?'"

"Companion sounds old-fashioned. There's no need to be coy these days."

"You've not noticed anything unusual around here lately, Val?"

"Well..."

"Yes, yes?"

"Mary Warnock saw Don Petheridge snogging Andrea Groom outside the Conservative Club on his so called day off 'golfing.'"

"Yeah. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," he sighed and air kissed Val on each cheek, walking off. He had reached the point where he'd wish Evy was there, knowing she would have spotted something that would have helped him figure it out by now.

"And then there's that silver rat thing," Val called.

He turned, "What?"

~8~

The Doctor was on his knees, under a table in the toy store, scanning the floor with his sonic, a large net in his other hand, "A silver rat," he stood and looked at Val, "Glowing red eyes."

"Yes, then it zizzed off. I wanted to get one for my nephew, but stockroom say there's no such item."

"I bet they do," he put away the sonic.

"Well, what was it then? Answer me that," before the Doctor could answer there was a clash of something falling over, "What's all that hullabaloo?"

The Doctor winced, "That'll be my partner!" he handed Val the net and rushed off towards the sound, only to see Craig desperately trying to pick up the stands he'd knocked over in the Ladies' Department while trying to shush a crying Alfie at the same time, "Hello, everyone!" he ran over, "Here to help."

"Hello, Doctor," a young sales girl he recognized as Kelly said.

"Hello, Doctor," George, the security guard, nodded in greeting.

"Hello," he grinned, "Has anyone seen a silver rat? No, ok. Long shot, I see you've met my friend, Craig. Nice uniform George," he gave him the 'ok' sign and whistled.

"Thank you, Doctor. If he's with you, that's alright then."

"Sorry," Kelly sighed, "I thought he was hassling me, 'cos that's the last thing I need today. 'Cos Shona's not turned up, right, so I'm doing twice the work for the same money."

"Shh!" the Doctor put his finger on his lips as Kelly stopped talking.

"Please teach me how to do that," Craig whispered.

The Doctor smacked himself on the forehead, hard, "No hold on...Un-shh! Shona?"

"My supervisor," Kelly nodded, "She's meant to be in today but never showed up."

"Where did you last see her?"

~8~

The Doctor and Craig walked along the changing room corridor of the Ladies' Department, "How do you do that?" Craig asked him quietly, "It's a power, isn't it? Some sort of weird alien hypnotic power, I bet you excrete some sort of gas that makes people love you."

"Would that I could, Craig," the Doctor sighed, before he opened a curtain and a woman screamed. He quickly shut it, "Sorry, madam," he peeked in again, "I'd try that in red if I were you," and closed it once more before turning and continuing on, completely uninterested in the woman in the room, and why would he be? He had Evy, at least for a time, and nothing would top her for him.

"I'm right though, aren't I?"

" _You_ love me," the Doctor peeked in another room, "I've never excreted any weird alien gases at you."

"I _don't_ love you! Don't start that again."

Alfie gurgled.

"Yes, I know," the Doctor remarked, "Of course he does. Of course you do, we're partners."

"But I did exactly what you would have done, and I nearly got arrested!"

Alfie made a noise.

"Stormy thinks you should believe in yourself more," he scanned with the sonic.

"Great, now my baby is reviewing me."

The Doctor stepped into the last room and frowned, "Here. Right here last night, a Cyberman took Shona."

"A Cyberman...I thought it was a little silver rat?"

"It's not a rat, it's a Cybermat!" he snapped.

"Alright don't have a go at me just 'cos I don't know the names."

The Doctor shook his head, nothing was there, before he turned and headed back out into the Ladies' Department, "Cybermats are infiltrators. Very small, very deadly...they collect power like bees collect pollen. One of them's been sucking the electrical energy from this area. But why a shop, you know, why not a nuclear power station?"

"Ok, why?" Craig frowned, eyeing the Doctor as he waved his hands around, looking like he was almost about to smack himself.

"Let's ask it," he suddenly stopped, "We wait for the shop to shut, we stake the place out, and grab ourselves a Cybermat."

"And this is just a coincidence, is it?"

"What is?"

"Aliens in Colchester? Aliens _twice_ in my life, happening to me just when _you_ turn up."

"This is not my fault, Craig."

"Shh, shh," Craig tried to soothe Alfie as he fussed, "Look what you've done!"

"It's his nappy, he's mentioned it twice."

"I don't speak Baby, do I?"

"There's a changing station over by electrical goods."

"And of course, you'd know that. Come on, Alfie," he headed off as Val watched them.

"Craig it's a coincidence," he called after them, "It _happens_ , it's what the Universe does for…" he trailed off, seeing Amy and Rory walking down another aisle, shopping, Rory carrying the bags like a gentleman.

A girl ran up to Amy, "Can I have your autograph please?"

"Yeah," Amy nodded, "Sure," she took the girl's notepad.

"...fun," he finished.

"What's your name?"

"Ellie," the girl replied.

"I like your hair band."

"Thank you."

The Doctor opened his mouth, about to call out, but backed away and ducked behind a rack of clothes. He had been so tempted right then to call and beg them to tell him if Evy had contacted them, if she was alright, anything, any sort of contact…he just needed _something_ …

"Alright?" Rory asked.

"There you go," Amy handed the girl back her pad.

"Thank you."

Amy nodded and she and Rory continued on, the Doctor pressing himself against the rack as they neared the direction he was hiding in, "Still can't believe he did that," Amy was saying quietly to Rory.

"I know," Rory sighed, "I could never let you go like that Amy," he admitted.

"I know," she said softly, linking her arm with his, "I'm not about to let your stupid face go either."

Rory's laugh faded as they walked past. The Doctor closing his eyes tightly, he knew what they were talking about, _who_ they were talking about.

His hearts hurt so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? The Doctor has a medallion too...just like at the Lake...we should be worried now...
> 
> I did something similar to this in the Academic Series. The Doctor was the only lodger staying with Craig then, the Professor being trapped with Amy in the TARDIS, and all the Doctor did was talk about the Professor and think of her and she was a pretty constant presence in his mind even when they were separated. Here, it's so much worse, because the Doctor was the one to cause the separation, and it's not just for a few days, it's nearing 200 years! (at least for him.) I really wanted to play up the havoc that must have done to him. Show Evy still had a presence with him, but not nearly in the same light light as the Professor, here...the Doctor's hanging onto his sanity by a thread.
> 
> As for timelines, I imagine the Doctor has either been landing on Earth in other time periods so as not to be tempted to seek out Evy, or has only been there an hour at most and that was in the beginning, after 200 years, his self control is shot, he's barely keeping himself from running to find her. You can almost see his staying to help Craig as a 'I really should go...but...' sort of thing. He's trying to justify spending more time on Earth so that if he...happens...to go to Cardiff after, it's because he's already on Earth, might as well. Not that he's going to go to Cardiff...but then again, maybe he will...we'll have to see if he manages to scrape together some control :)
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor snaps. Val gets to the Doctor. The Doctor gets a surprise that will not end well for him.


	20. Closing Time (Part 2)

That night, the Doctor and Craig hid behind the perfume counter while George walked by on patrol, Alfie sitting in his pram, quiet as well, "Ok, shh," the Doctor whispered, peeking up to see George walking through the back door. He stood, scanning the area with his sonic, "Right. Let's be having you then, Cybermat."

Alfie started to cry as Craig turned to him, "Can't you put that on quiet?"

"No!" he hissed, "It's a _sonic_ screwdriver. Sonic equals sound!" he took an item out of his coat, what seemed to be a mess of straps, "Take this. I got it on my discount, 10 percent off. It's a papoose," he turned and draped it on Craig.

"Why do I need a papoose?"

"Alfie wants to attach you to him. You're _far_ too slow when he summons you."

"When's he going to stop giving me marks?"

"Never," he said, growing quiet, "That's parenthood…" something he would be missing…he shook his head, "Couldn't you have got a babysitter?" he nearly snapped, being around the baby…it was almost too much, "No, _any_ babysitter..." he muttered to Alfie as the child gurgled, "Doesn't have to be a hot one."

"I told everyone I know I didn't need their help this weekend, they won't answer my calls. I didn't know there was going to be an invasion of Cybermen!" Alfie fussed, "Shh."

"It's ok," the Doctor whispered to Alfie, trying to calm him as Craig picked him up. He turned, spotting the Cybermat out of the corner of his eye and lunged, managing to catch it in the net he'd snatched, "Ha ha!" he whispered, frowning at it, "That's very odd. It must be on low power. Or I'm better at that than I remember…" he winced. Evy would have smacked him, saying something about his ego…God he was even starting to miss the smacks!

"Oh, is that it?" Craig asked, seeing him grow lost in thoughts, just holding the silver creature.

"Yeah."

"Oh, it's quiet cute, look at that. Look, Alfie, look," he held up the baby, when the Cybermat suddenly bared its teeth, two _sharp_ rows of them. Craig screamed as the Doctor flashed it with the sonic, "Metal rat. Real mouth! Metal rat, real mouth, metal rat, real mouth!"

"Stop screaming. STOP SCREAMING! Shh!" he spun around, hearing George scream in the distance, "Come on!" he ran off, Craig following as he struggled to put Alfie in the papoose on the way.

The Doctor ran down the stairs to the basement, following the beeping of the sonic, using it as a torch as well, "George!" he shouted, bursting into the basement and spotting George's torch on the floor a few feet away from the man's body, "George..." he bent over to examine the man when a Cyberman came out of nowhere, reaching out with his arm to knock him to the ground in a chop, knocking him out as well.

~8~

The Doctor slowly came around to Craig kneeling beside him, "Doctor! Doctor! What happened?"

"Oh, I've been chipped...chapped...chopped!" Craig helped him up as he looked around to see George was gone, "The Cyberman...it killed George, took him back to the ship."

"The Cybermen are here? But you said…"

He stumbled a bit, "Yeah, I know what I said, I say a lot of things!" he flashed the sonic around, "But I fused the teleport...it should have taken them _days_ to repair."

"If Evy were here she'd have fused it properly!"

"Yes well she's not!"

Craig frowned at the snap from the Doctor, "Are you ok?"

The Doctor swallowed hard, knowing what Craig was asking about, but he looked away, choosing instead to answer with, "I should be dead...but the arm it chopped me with, it was damaged, old spare parts. Must have changed those missing people."

"They changed the missing into Cybermen? Why didn't they change you?"

"Long story. I'm not exactly compatible. But why are they using spare parts, why? Everything I find out makes less sense!"

Craig sighed, "And Evy's not here to help…" he trailed off, seeing the Doctor wince at the mention of her, "Doctor, listen to me. If the Cybermen are here, then we're not safe, we've got to go. We've got to go back to base."

"We've got a base? When did we get a base?"

~8~

The Doctor sat at the kitchen table of Craig's house, an assortment of items before him that he was mixing together, the Cybermat sitting beside him, "I'm going down the shops, we're out of milk," Craig called, heading for the door, "You know what to do if he cries," he tossed him the baby monitor.

"No!"

"Me neither!" Craig shouted before the front door shut.

The Doctor continued working a moment, when Alfie started crying. He froze, the sound of the baby making his hearts twist painfully. He closed his eyes tightly, would his own child be asleep now? Would it be crying? Would Evy be standing there bobbing it in her arms, trying to soothe it because daddy wasn't there to sing it a lullaby from home? Evy couldn't sing to save her life, not this incarnation at least, as off-key as a dying cat... _he_ should be there, be the one singing it to sleep...but he wasn't. He _couldn't_ be.

He took a breath and got up, heading upstairs. He paused in the doorway of Alfie's nursery, looking up at the soft projection of the moon and stars on his ceiling, playing music. He stepped cautiously into the room, "Hello, Stormageddon. It's the Doctor. Here to help," he picked up a small stuffed rabbit and tried to get Alfie to focus on that, "Shh. There, there. Be quiet. Go to sleep. Really, stop crying…please," he blinked, tears coming to his eyes as the baby cried, his hearts were breaking, was his own child crying for its father as Alfie was crying for his mother? He swallowed hard, his voice cracking, "Stop crying, I can't…"

Alfie looked at him, quieting, almost as though he could see the man getting more upset.

He took a breath, trying to calm himself, "You've got a lot to look forward to, you know. A normal human life on Earth. Mortgage repayments, the nine to five, a persistent nagging sense of spiritual emptiness. Save the tears for later, boyo. Oh, no!" he rubbed his forehead, "That was crabby. No, that was old! But I am old, Stormy. I am so old. So near the end."

He reached out, pausing when he saw his hands shaking, before picking Alfie up cautiously. He felt awkward, holding Alfie, the only baby he'd ever thought he'd hold again was his own, but that wouldn't happen now, "You, Alfie Owens, you are so young, aren't you? And, you know, right now, everything's ahead of you. You could be anything. Yes, I know. You could walk among the stars. They don't actually look like that, you know, they are rather more impressive."

He pulled the sonic out of his pocket and flashed the projection, making the ceiling far more realistic, "Yeah! You know, when I was little like you, I dreamt of the stars. I think it's fair to say, in the language of your age, that I lived my dream. I owned the stage, gave it a 110 percent. I hope you have as much fun as I did, Alfie," he kissed him on the head softly, feeliing a tear escape him as he thought about why he'd had so much fun after losing his planet, what pushed him to give 110 percent, "I hope you find a love like I did…" he reached up and quickly wiped below his eye.

He cleared his throat, "Your dad's trying his best, you know. Yes, I know. It's not his fault he doesn't have mammary glands. No, but neither do I! Alfie, why is there a sinister beeping coming from behind me?" he slowly turned around and spotted the Cybermat, active, in the doorway, its mouth chomping, "Oh, no you don't!" he flashed the sonic at it, stunning it momentarily, "Come on, Alfie. Run! It's only stunned!" he hurried down the hall, down the stairs, and through the kitchen door, "It's going to be ok. Good, Alfie. We're going to go outside. Don't worry about it!" he turned, outside, and shut the door, only to realize he'd dropped the sonic inside as the door locked behind him.

~8~

"I'm back!" Craig shouted as he entered the house. He set down his mobile on the desk with his keys, walking off as the mobile started to buzz.

~8~

"Come on, Craig, pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up!" the Doctor muttered into the house phone he'd snatched.

~8~

"Doctor? Doctor?" he walked into the kitchen and put the milk away. But when he turned around the Cybermat attacked, flying for his throat. The power of the attack knocked him down, but he managed to hold it back, the teeth gnashing at him.

~8~

"Craig, don't worry, Alfie is fine," the Doctor called into the phone, "But on no account enter the house."

"Doctor!" he heard someone shout, strangled.

He turned around to see Craig on the kitchen floor, fighting the Cybermat, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Help me!"

He quickly placed Alfie in a small swing, kissing his head before spitting on his hands. He rubbed them together and jumped through the glass door that led to the kitchen.

"Where's Alfie?" Craig struggled to get out as he fought the Cybermat, "Where's Alfie?"

"He's safe, he's safe!" he pulled out het sonic.

"Get it off me!"

"I have to find the right frequency, shut it down!"

"Kill it!"

He groaned, "Alright, alright, alright! MOVE!" he grabbed a pot from the table and whacked the Cybermat, sending it skidding across the floor. Craig got up but the Cybermat now ran for the Doctor's throat, "Ow! Baking tray, Craig, baking tray!" he threw the rat device to the floor as Craig covered it with the baking tray, holding it down as the Doctor got up, "Hold it down!"

"Get on with it!"

"Ah, it must be shielded from metastatic energy! Of course!"

"Yeah, of course!"

"Don't worry, I have an app for that," he winced, Evy had made him that app, "Stand back. Stand back!" Craig moved back and the Doctor flashed the Cybermat, 'killing it,' "Success! That was amazing, you must be really, really strong. That thing should have had you easy."

"Is it definitely dead?"

"Inactive, yes. Technically never been alive. It was 'playing possum' before, to take us by surprise. Bravo!"

Craig shook his head, " _Bravo_? That thing nearly _killed_ us!"

" _Nearly_ being the operative word."

"It never would have gotten the chance to if Evy were here, but she's not!"

And then…something in the Doctor snapped.

He rounded on Craig, "Yes! I know! I KNOW Evy isn't here! I get it Craig! I've gotten it for nearly the last 200 year! I KNOW!"

Craig stared at him, eyes wide, as the man before him panted. Clearly he was very nearly at the end of his rope. He closed his mouth quickly, swallowing hard, unsure of what to do or what to say. So he just muttered, "Alfie," and rushed past him outside, leaving the man to slump with a heave, rubbing his forehead.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting on the couch, working silently on the Cybermat, a loupe in his eye. Craig wandered around behind him, holding Alfie, but watching the Doctor closely, almost awkwardly, clearly aware of the tension that had arisen.

"I'm knackered," Craig said after a moment, if just for something to say, "That thing was eating up the electricity?"

"And transmitting it up to the CyberShip," the Doctor nodded, distractedly, "But why? Why do they need power, why are those conversions not complete yet, and what are they doing up there?"

Craig hesitated, knowing Evy would be far better at helping the man think than him, so he could only go with what little he had, "You said you were going to look at its brain."

"I had to wipe its brain. Now I can reprogram it, use it as a weapon against them."

"The Cybermat came after us?" he moved to sit on the end of the couch.

"No, after me."

"They sent it after _us_?" he tried again, knowing how Evy had tried to drill the fact that he wasn't alone anymore into the Doctor's head…it seemed he'd regressed in the…good Lord, _200 years_ , without her.

"After _me_. Because of me, you and Alfie nearly died," he sighed wearily, pulling the loupe from his eye, "Do you still feel safe with me, Craig?"

"You can't help who your mates are."

"No! I am a stupid and selfish man. Always have been. I should have made you go, like Evy," he murmured.

Craig frowned, eyeing him. He'd been trying to figure out what had happened to Evy. She couldn't have died and he seriously doubted she would have just up and left him, but then again, he'd never thought that the Doctor would _ever_ make her go, "Doctor…what happened to Evy? Really?"

He rubbed his head, "I sent her away," he told him quietly, "It was…it was getting too dangerous, for her to stay with me."

"She's gonna smack you, you know, as soon as she finds you."

The Doctor shook his head, he was _so tempted_ to find her first, "I should never have come here."

"What would have happened if you hadn't come? Who else knows about Cybermen and teleports?"

"I put people in danger."

"Stop beating yourself up!" he shouted, "If it wasn't for you and Evy this whole planet would be in absolute ruin."

The Doctor leaned forward, putting down the Cybermat and resting his elbows on his knees, "Craig, very soon I won't be here...my time is running out. I don't mean Exedor. Silence will fall when the question is asked. Don't even know what the question is. Always knew I'd die still asking and I wasn't going to bring Evy and our child down with me. I've been trying to find a way out, a way around it, _something_ …a way to survive it, so I can go back to Evy and know nothing will happen to her because of me. But, the thing is Craig, it's tomorrow."

It was always tomorrow for him. Time travel, it could be tomorrow forever, but he couldn't do that to Evy, let her live every single day wondering if tomorrow was going to come. He'd hoped that he could find out about the Silence, take care of them himself, and make it back to Evy with little time having passed. That hadn't happened. He'd taken far too long, and the sad thing was...he'd run out of options now. He'd gone to every planet that had even a whisper of the word 'silence' spoken, talked with every species that used eye patches, and dug as deep as he could into what 'the question' was, but there was nothing left. There was no one left to go to for help. The only way he'd find out, was to experience it, and hope that, somehow, he'd live through it. He'd hoped he could at least give Evy the birth of their child before he died, she'd have a backup plan for the baby, she'd have thought of who should look after him or her for them, because she wouldn't be able to if he died. If he died before the baby was born...the baby would probably die as well and Evy's suffering would be twice as great.

He'd tried to land on Earth, when he had to, in the future, after the child had been born, but the TARDIS had mutinied on him, landing him on Earth in nearly consecutive days. When he realized what day it was, that it was only a day after he'd last landed there, he'd leave. He _had_ to, stepping out of the TARDIS, on Earth, synced him with her, and he could _feel_ her, feel how much she was _hurting_ , and he had to run back to the big blue box, because if he didn't he would want to find her and hold her. He'd wanted Evy to be able to have their baby but he had no way of knowing if she had or not. The psychic barriers kept her from locating the TARDIS when he landed on Earth and he couldn't go see her. He tried to block as much of himself as he could, but it didn't help. The Link was still there, still strong, and he wouldn't dare ever try to sever that, _not ever_. But...he'd spent 200 years out there while it had only been two weeks for Evy...there wasn't much of her thoughts to filter through, the timing was so off that every day for him was like only 20 seconds for her, it was almost more of a torture than her not being there. Having that feeling of her in the back of his mind, living a whole day and only hearing a single sensation of thought from her. He tried not to actively listen to her thoughts though, he had to ignore her, if he did he would run back to her, and as a result he didn't even know if the baby was in the world yet, for all he knew, he might have missed the birth of his child. So he kept himself as busy and distracted and exhausted as possible, because he didn't want to think on that, he didn't want to miss such an important moment. Evy had been ready to pop when they'd been in the hotel, nearing the end of her pregnancy...it could have been only weeks to a month before she would be going into labor...and he wouldn't be there for her, holding her hand...

He blinked back his tears and shook his head, "Can't put it off any more," he sighed, his resolve weakened day by day, he _had_ to stop the Silence, and _soon_ , "Tomorrow is the day I..." he looked over to see Craig and Alfie both asleep on the couch. He smiled sadly, wistfully, looking at them, wishing it was him and his own child for a moment, before standing. He covered them with a blanket before heading off to the kitchen.

~8~

The Doctor closed the door to the house gently behind him the next morning, holding the Cybermat in his hand and a remote in the other, "Safe mode. Clever me. Come along, Bitey," he pet the Cybermat as he turned and walked off.

~8~

Craig slowly woke up to the sun shining in his eyes and Sophie's voice carrying on the answer phone, "So I'll be back about ten, 'cos Melina's totally gone off on one, she's going to kill David Jenkins. I'm stupid to worry, I can't wait to get home to my special boys!"

He stood up quickly, only to see the Cybermat missing, "Oh, no, no, no! Doctor?" he ran into the kitchen, looking for him.

"Love you. Alfie, love you, Craig!" the machine beeped as the message ended.

Craig stopped by the refrigerator to see a note on blue paper with silver ink, 'Dear Craig, Gone to stop Cybermen. Sorry. Goodbye. The Doctor.'

"You idiot!" he shouted, channeling Evy a moment, before running back through the house.

~8~

The Doctor hurried into the Ladies' Department, looking around, just as Val arrived, "Morning!" she cheered.

"Morning. Teleport's still fused," he walked with Val, "They didn't repair it. So the Cyberman last night, how did it get down here, how did it get out? And why…why, am I asking _you_?"

"You found the silver rat!"

"But where are the silver men?"

~8~

Craig stepped out of his house with Alfie in the papoose, "Sorry, Alfie, I can't leave you here on your own. There's something up with the Doctor and we owe him. I wouldn't have you or mummy if it wasn't for him and Evy! He needs someone. He always needs someone, he always needs Evy, and he just can't admit it. I promise nothing's going to happen to you!" he kissed him on the cheek, "Alright, come on, here we go!" and they were off.

~8~

The Doctor walked quickly through the Ladies' changing rooms, speaking to the Cybermat…not really. If he were being honest, he was speaking out loud again because then he could lie to himself, he could imagine that Evy was still with him, right behind him, like she always was. That is…if he were being honest.

"Secondary teleport. No, there is no other teleport, they must have had a backup system, something complicated, something powerful, something shielded. Something like...a door. A door!" he moved into the last room, "A disillium-bonded steel door disguised as a wall! That is cheating!" he eyed the full length mirror before pulling it open to reveal a roughly carved tunnel, "So...it didn't teleport _down_. It climbed _up_."

He slowly walked down the tunnel, scanning it with his sonic. He slid down the last few feet into a large cavern where the damaged CyberShip was hidden. He took a breath before heading for it, managing to sneak in with relative ease. He wandered till he found the conversion room and whistled at the state of it, "Well, well, well. You have been busy."

~8~

"Doctor!" Craig shouted as he ran into the Ladies' Department, "Doctor!"

"Another row?" Val asked, spotting him, "He went in the changing rooms, something about silver men."

"Oh, God, no. Val, I need you to look after Alfie for me, ok?" he took off the papoose, "Please look after him, the Doctor needs me," he handed Alfie to Val and ran off, "Don't follow me!"

"I wasn't intending to!" she called, rocking the baby.

~8~

The Doctor reached out into the dirt, picking up the partially buried nametag for George when a Cyberman marched up behind him, "You have come to us."

"Took me a while, a lot on my mind," he remarked, standing and turning to face the metal man…and, in a very rare instance, was glad that Evy wasn't there, in such a situation, with him, "Let's see, this ship crashed here centuries ago, no survivors, but the systems are dormant waiting for power. And then the council stick a load of new cables right on top of you. Bitey wakes up and channels the power, you start crewing up from the shop as best you can, not enough power, not enough parts."

"When we are ready we will emerge. We will convert this planet to CyberForm."

"What, the six of you?"

"You know that is enough. You know us. You are the Doctor."

"Correct. And the Doctor always gives you a choice. Deactivate yourself, or I deactivate you," he aimed the sonic at the Cyberman who took a step back, but then...another one entered behind him.

~8~

Craig ran through the changing rooms, "Doctor? Doctor?" and spotted the entrance to the tunnel. He looked around, grabbing a UPC scanner before entering the tunnel.

~8~

The Doctor cried out in pain as one of the Cybermen grabbed him and held his arms behind his back, forcing him to drop the Cybermat, "He must be the new leader," the one holding him stated.

"No," the one he'd been speaking to disagreed, "He is not like us. Brain and binary vascular system incompatible."

Craig snuck over to the door and peeked in.

"They will be discarded. Other body parts may be of use."

He leapt in, brandishing the scanner like a gun, "Oi, Cybermen! Get off my planet or I activate this."

"Craig, stop this, get out!" the Doctor shouted.

"It's like you said, Doctor, got to believe you can do it!"

" _You_ located us?" the main Cyberman turned to Craig.

"Teleport in the lift, bit rubbish. That little Cybermat never stood a chance. See what you're dealing with?"

"You are compatible. You are intelligent," the Cyberman touched his hand to his chest panel and shot electricity at Craig, making him drop the scanner as another Cyberman grabbed him and yanked him forward.

"No, I'm not intelligent, you don't want me!" Craig struggled.

"Do not fear. We will take your fear from you. You will be like us. You will be more than us," it moved to one of the conversion chambers and opened it.

"No, no, no, no."

"Your designation is CyberController. You will lead us, we will conquer this world!"

The Cyberman began to force him into the chamber, "Doctor!"

"Craig!" the Doctor twisted, trying to get out of the Cyberman's grip.

"Do something! Please!" different parts started to clamp down around his limbs, "DOCTOR!"

"Craig, don't worry. I've reprogrammed the Cybermat, it'll drain their power!" he pulled the remote from his pocket as the Cybermat scuttled across the floor…when the main Cyberman stomped on it.

"You have failed, Doctor," it stated, "Begin conversion! Phase one. Cleanse the brain of emotions."

"No! Craig! Fight it! They can't convert you if you fight back! You're strong, don't give in to it!"

"Help me!" Craig called.

"Think of Sophie, think of Alfie, don't let them take it all away!"

"Make it stop. Please make it stop!"

"Please, listen to me! I believe in you, I believe you can do this! I've always believed in all of you, all my life! I'm going die, Craig. Tomorrow, I'm going to die, but I don't mind if you just prove me right!" it was another lie, he would mind, very much so, but he needed to say something to get Craig fighting, "CRAIG!"

The headpiece closed around Craig, welding itself shut, "Begin full conversion!" the Cyberman ordered as the Doctor watched in agony, the machine starting up. A monitor flickered to life as the security system played, showing Val standing there with a crying Alfie.

"Unknown sound wave detected!" another Cyberman stated.

"It is the sound of fear. It is irrelevant. We will remove all fear."

"Alfie!" the Doctor called, "I'm so sorry! Alfie, please stop! I can't help him."

"Emotions eradicated, conversion complete."

Craig's fingers twitched as an alarm sounded.

"Alert. Emotional subsystems rebooting. This is impossible."

Energy crackled around the headpiece as the Doctor looked on, stunned, "He can hear him. He can hear Alfie! Oh, please, just give me this! Craig, you wanted a chance to prove you're a dad. You're never going to get better one than this!"

A crack appeared down the center of the headpiece, "What is happening?"

"What's happening, you metal moron? A baby is crying. And you better watch out, 'cos guess what? Ha! Daddy's coming home!"

And his joyful smile faded. He wouldn't be coming home, not to Evy, not to their child...not until he knew it was safe, till the Silence were stopped. A father would do _anything_ to protect their child...he had to do it...he had to face the Silence.

The headpiece opened as Craig shouted, "Alfie!" he fought tooth and nail against the machine, overloading it, "Alfie, I'm here! I'm coming for you!"

The Cybermen staggered from the emotional onslaught as the Doctor shook his head and mustered a small smile, cheering, "Yes, Craig!"

The machine started to release Craig, the Doctor pulling free to help, "Alfie!"

"Alfie needs you!"

"Emergency!" a Cyberman reported, "Emotional influx!"

"You've triggered a feedback loop into their emotional inhibitors," the Doctor told him, pulling the machinery away from Craig, "All that stuff they cut out of themselves, now they're feeling it! Which means a very big explosion!"

"Overload, overload, overload."

They ran for the doors, "Get this open, we need to get to Alfie!" Craig called.

"They've sealed the ship!" the Doctor yelled as the heads of the Cybermen began to explode.

"We've got to get out of here!"

"I know!"

"If Evy were here…"

"I know!" he shouted again, before grabbing the sonic, "The teleport!" he flashed it quickly and they were beamed out, back into the lift, clinging to each other, moments before the ship exploded. The lift bell dinged and Craig rushed out, back into the Ladies' Department.

"How did you get in there?" Val called, seeing them step out of the lift.

"Alfie!" he reached for his son.

"Here's your daddy," she passed the baby over.

"That was another review!" the Doctor told Craig as he ran up, "Ten out of ten."

"The Cybermen..." he turned to the Doctor, "They blew up. I blew them up with love!" he hugged Alfie close.

"No, that's impossible, and also grossly sentimental and over simplistic. You destroyed them because of the deeply ingrained hereditary human trait to protect one's own genes which in turn triggered a...uh...yeah. Love. You blew them up with love."

~8~

"The building should be totally safe," the Doctor was explaining to Kelly later, "Structurally, and of course the bonded disillium contained the explosion."

"Right…" she nodded, "Why you telling me all this?"

"I don't know," and yet another lie, he did know why. He spoke to her simply because Evy wasn't there to nod along, smiling fondly at him, before she smacked him in the back of the head for something or another. he shook his head and looked at Kelly, "Shh," he put his finger to his lip, quieting her, before heading over to Craig.

"It suits you," Val commented to Craig as he stepped up to the counter in a new shirt, his other one having gotten torn in the conversion chamber.

"Thanks," he grinned.

"Discount applies to partners."

"Great."

"Are you two married then?"

"Nah, we talked about it, but it's just a piece of paper, isn't it?"

The Doctor put an arm around Craig's shoulders, "Thank you for your help, Val. Good noticing. Keep 'em peeled."

"I will," she nodded, "I'm glad you two made up for baby's sake."

"Ah!" his eyes widened, realizing what Val had been hinting at all that time and dropping his arms from Craig.

"How d'you mean?" Craig frowned as the Doctor stepped back.

"It's nice for baby to have two daddies who love each other," Val explained.

"Wait...hang on a sec! Two daddies?" he and the Doctor made a face at that, shaking their heads, "You think I'm..."

"His companion."

Craig laughed and turned around, "Doctor?" only to see he was gone.

"Oh! Now where's he rushed off to?"

He frowned, "He's gone."

~8~

Craig entered his house later that day and looked around, stunned. The house was _spotless_ , completely cleaned, with fresh cut flowers on the tables, "Who's tidied all this up?" he wondered, walking into the kitchen to see even _that_ was cleaned.

The Doctor stepped through the repaired back door, "See, I _do_ come back."

"How did you..."

"Time machine!" he cut in, his voice strained. All the adventure with the baby, hearing Val speaking of partners…his mind had shot straight to Evy and he'd found himself in the TARDIS, setting a course for Cardiff before he even realized it. He'd just managed to head back to Craig's, needing something desperately to distract him, so he cleaned, _everything_ , "But even with time travel, getting glaziers on a Sunday...tricky."

"You went back in time? That means you used up your hours. What about Exedor?"

"What about you being in trouble with Sophie when she comes back? I couldn't let that happen."

"You used up your time...for _me_?"

"Course I did. You're me mate. I notice Stormageddon's very quiet and happy," he gave a small smile as Alfie gurgled, "He prefers the name Alfie now. And he's very proud of his dad."

"He calls me 'dad?'"

"Yes, of course he does _now_! Yeah, I know, he's a bit thick, isn't he?"

"Shut up, you two!"

"Well...now it's time. I have to go."

"Doctor, I know that something's wrong, I can help you."

"Nobody can help me."

He frowned, "Not even Evy?" the Doctor winced and he sighed, "Doctor…find her," the Doctor looked up at him, "Bring her back."

"I can't…" he whispered, sounding for all the world like he was barely holding on to that sentiment.

"It's just…it's hard work keeping you alive and she's got more experience than anyone I know. If you're worried you're about to die, she, of all people, can help. And…you clearly need her."

The Doctor looked down, giving a noncommittal nod, before something caught this gaze, "I hope Sophie won't mind, I need these," he held up a few dark blue envelopes.

Craig sighed, "Where are you going to go?"

"America."

"Sophie will be home any second, are you sure?"

"I can't miss this appointment, Craig. Goodbye, mate."

"Wait there. One second," he dashed out the room before coming back once more with a Stetson, "From Sean's stag," he put it on the Doctor's head.

"Wow."

"You ride 'em, pardner."

"Oh, thanks," he snapped his fingers and pointed them at Craig before turning to head to the back door.

"Bye," Craig gave a little wave, when there was a knock on the front door. He turned, "Doctor, that will be Sophie arriv..." he turned back, only to see the Doctor was gone. The knocking continued and he rushed to the front door, opening it to see a beaming Sophie.

"Hello! Hello! I forgot my keys!" she stepped in.

"Oh, I've missed you so much!" he gave her a hug and kiss.

"Missed you too, both of you," she stepped back and eyed him, "Are you wearing a papoose?"

"Yeah," he closed the door and followed her into the sitting room.

"Oh, my God," she gasped, looking around, surprised, "The place is _spotless_! Has anything happened? You look different."

"Nothing happened! Nothing weird."

"Look at you two, thick as thieves. Who's daddy's little boy then?"

"Doctor," Alfie spoke.

"What?" Sophie looked up at her son's first words, "Craig?"

~8~

The Doctor walked down the street, towards the TARDIS, stopping when he spotted a boy and two girls playing nearby. He looked at the door, "Well then, old girl," he licked his thumb and wiped off a spot, "One last trip, eh?" he glanced over, seeing the children had stopped playing and were looking at him, "Hey. I'm the Doctor. I was here to help. And you are very, _very_ welcome," he put his hand to his hat and tipped it, before turning and entering the TARDIS.

He shut the door, only to flinch a moment later when he sensed a presence behind him and a very familiar, very _angry_ voice spoke, "If you thought I was _cross_ with you, Doctor, for what you did to me when you went to face the Sontarans…" he winced, "You have _no idea_ how bloody _furious_ I am _right now_!"

He slowly turned around to see Evy standing there, her hands on her hips, in her tan outfit with a black shirt on, heavily pregnant, glaring at him, the hormones making her twice as angry as she would have been for what he'd done. He swallowed hard…this was not going to end well for him, not at all.

No, this time...Evy might _really_ kill him.

~8~

'It was funny,' one statement by a woman said, 'He seemed so happy but so sad at the same time.'

'I was just a kid,' another by a man reported, 'I thought maybe he was a cowboy on his way to a gunfight.'

'I really liked his hat,' one last one from another girl added.

River Song, dressed in academic robes, closed the files she was reading, eyewitness accounts of the Doctor, before opening her journal reading an entry for 22/04/11, 5:02PM, Lake Silencio.

"Tick, tock, goes the clock," a voice said and she looked up, startled, "And what now shall we play?" there was no one there, "Tick, tock, goes the clock. Now summer's gone away."

"Hello?" she called.

An older woman with dark hair, in a tight black dress suit, wearing an eye patch, stepped into the light, "Such a lovely old song. But is it about _him_?"

Her eyes widened, "You know about the Doctor?"

"So very well," River stood, frowning, as she eyed the familiar woman, "Oh, don't try and remember me. We have been far too thorough with your dear little head."

River tensed, hearing someone walk up behind her. She turned to see two of the Silence behind her, "What are they? What are those things?"

"Your owners," Kovarian replied, plucking up River's journal and reading it, flipping through all the information she'd collected about the Doctor and Evy over the years at the university.

River turned back, suddenly calm, "My what?"

"So they made you a doctor today, did they? Dr. River Song. How clever you are. You understand what _this_ is, don't you?" she pointed to the entry she'd just been looking at.

"According to some accounts, it's the day the Doctor dies."

"And Evy by association," Kovarian nodded, "By Silencio Lake on the Plain of Sighs an impossible astronaut will rise from the deep and strike the Time Lord dead, destroying his Link along with him."

River sat down, "It's a story."

"And _this_ is where it begins," she looked to the doors as two soldiers entered, carrying an astronaut suit, "You never really escaped us, Melody Pond. We were always coming for you."

The soldiers set the items down and grabbed River's arms, "How do you know who I am?" she cried, struggling.

"I made you what you are. The woman who kills the Doctor."

"No, no, no!" one of the soldiers pulled out a sedation gun and shot her, "Urgh!" she fell back into the chair, breathing heavily, dazed.

"Tick, tock, goes the clock and all the years they fly," River's head started to loll, "Tick, tock, and all too soon your loves will surely die," she grinned, waiting till River was out, before giving the order for her to be placed in the suit and moved to the bottom of the Lake to wait.

~8~

" _Tick tock goes the clock  
He cradled her and rocked her  
Tick tock goes the clock  
Till River kills the Doctor..."_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) Did you really think I'd torture you that much by keeping Evy away? Never! ...ok, maybe. But not this time :)
> 
> It seems Evy's learned a lot from her previous experiences trying to reach the TARDIS in time. Remember, she'd always sense the Doctor settle on Earth and try to make it to the box before he could leave, but was never fast enough. And now that he's aware of her being on Earth and that she'd try it, he's kept himself around far less than he usually would...until Craig that is. But then again, Evy's more determined than ever now...and she's got Torchwood, UNIT, and her friends to help her find the TARDIS, keeping an eye on their equipment for spikes in Artron Energy, and helping her get there. Oh Doctor...he's probably in for one hell of a smack isn't he?
> 
> We've seen a little about the Link from the Doctor's POV in this chapter, we'll be getting another look at it from Evy's as well. What was it like for her in those two weeks, knowing that the Doctor was out there for 200 years? Guess we'll find out :) And can I just say...I am uber-excited for the next two chapters, more so Part 2, I just love that half of the episode, as I mentioned before, the Part 2s are my favorites ^-^
> 
> Next chapter...something's...off...about Evy. The Time Lords get a surprise dropping off the envelopes. River isn't the only one waiting for them in the pyramid.


	21. The Graduation of River Song (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since you've all probably read TIA at the start of this story, the 'flashback' scenes of the Doctor meeting Amy and Rory and River in the desert and diner are not going to be here, this is mostly only going to have new scenes that weren't written in TIA. Also, the events that take place in the past, what the Doctor tells Winston, will be in italics. Enjoy!

Winston Churchill, the Holy Roman Emperor, sat in his office of the Senate House, having his blood pressure checked by his Silurian doctor, Malokeh, while he went over paperwork. A steam engine train whistled outside which made him glance up, watching as a car floated by the window, attached to a hot air balloon. He grumbled at the static on the radio but the sunspot activity and solar flares were creating massive interference leaving him in the quiet, making him aware of all sounds outside like the pterodactyls shrieking in the park and the Roman chariots rolling past. He shook his head and returned to his work, trying to help hash out the War of the Roses before the second year really started because he'd really rather be enjoying Charles Dickens' new book about Christmas and ghosts of the past, present, and future all happening at once in peace.

"Not too many late nights in Gaul, I hope," Malokeh remarked.

He sighed, "Just the one. I had an argument with Cleopatra. Dreadful woman. Excellent dancer."

"I can tell from your blood pressure."

Winston looked back at the grandfather clock behind him, "What time do you have, doctor?"

Malokeh checked his pocket watch, "Two minutes past five, Caesar."

"It's always two minutes past five. Day or night, it's always two minutes past five in the afternoon. Why _is_ that?"

"Because that is the time, Caesar."

"And the date. Always the 22nd of April. Does it not bother you?"

"The date and the time have always been the same, Caesar. Why should it start bothering me now?"

"I want to see the Soothsayers. Where are they?"

"In the Tower. Where you threw them the last time."

"Get them!"

~8~

Two Roman soldiers held the arm of each of the two soothsayers being led down the corridor in chains. Both were dressed in traditional Roman garb, a tunic, sandals, with a small toga sashed over them. One was dressed in light blues, the man, his hair long with a scruffy beard, while the other, a woman, heavily pregnant, was dressed in reds and light pinks, her blonde hair held back in a Roman bun.

~8~

The soldiers forced the male soothsayer to his knees before Winston while they left the female to remain standing beside him, "Leave us!" Winston ordered and the soldiers left. He eyed the two soothsayers, their heads bowed, "Tick tock goes the clock, as the old song says. But they don't, do they? The clocks never tick. Something has happened to time. That's what you say. What you never STOP saying. All of history is happening at once. But what does that mean? What happened? Explain to me in terms that I can understand. What happened to time?"

"Do you _really_ want to know?" Evy asked softly as she moved to look at Winston.

The male soothsayer looked up as well, revealing the Doctor, "A woman."

~8~

_EARLIER…_

_The Doctor gingerly put an ice pack to the back of his head as he fell down onto the jump seat, Evy piloting the TARDIS, muttering to herself about him and his idiocy and listening to the TARDIS as she broke her vow of silence against him and filled Evy in on all that he'd done since he'd left her. Evy had been fuming. And with good reason._

_He'd sent her to Jack after they had dropped off Amy and Rory and run. In his mind he'd been protecting her. He was determined to find a way to save himself, if not for him than for Evy and their child. He would_ not _die, not now, he wouldn't leave them like that. So he'd run, out into space, travelling to its farthest reaches, trying to find more on the Silence, on this Madame Kovarian, on his death date. Anything that could help him work out what to do. He had no idea what he might encounter on the way and couldn't bear the thought of Evy coming along only to get hurt or killed. So he'd left her with Jack, promising himself that he would come back for her as soon as he found a way out of his supposedly fixed date of death._

_He hadn't known it would take nearly 200 years and counting. For Evy, it had been only two weeks since he'd left her, but that didn't matter with the Link. She hadn't guarded her mind nearly as much as he had tried to do. Every minute her mind was downloaded with about three days' worth of his travels. Her mind absorbed it and assimilated it, making her aware of what had happened with him, in a way no other species could manage. And she was livid that, in his timeline, she'd lost about 194 years with him. He really hadn't thought it would take_ that _long._

_So…when she came at him and started smacking him and punching his chest and kicking his shins and screaming and crying and cursing him…he'd accepted it, for what else could he do? Especially when he rightly deserved it. In fact…the only reason she hadn't massacred him was the fact that he_ had _had to live_ 194 years _without_ her _. In the end, he almost hoped she hated him or was angry enough at him to want to leave him to face his death alone…but she'd caught his thoughts and gave him_ one hell _of a_ wallop _on the back of the head, telling him he was not getting rid of her that easily_ ever again, _in_ _fact she'd even gone ahead and programmed the TARDIS so that, if she was ever teleported out of the box, she would reappear back in it...unless the box itself saw a danger in being there and needed to teleport her out._

_Thus explained his current predicament, the bruises spotting his body, and his throbbing headache. But still…he watched her working, grumbling, and couldn't help a small smile. He'd missed her_ so much, _been so tempted, nearly been ready, to get her, when she beat him to it. He wanted her back so terribly and really, he should have known she would find a way back, despite how impossible it was. He'd done everything he could to prevent her from sensing the TARDIS landing, from allowing her to find him, that he'd forgotten the technology available to their friends, especially Torchwood and UNIT and the fact that the TARDIS, no matter what, gave off a distinct Artron Energy reading that their computers would detect. He couldn't deny, though, that just having her there with him unburdened his soul. No matter how dark things had gotten for him in the last 200 years, Evy was back, his Evy, his Luna, his moon, and with her the darkness that he'd been left in was illuminated once more. And with her there, he'd be able to beat anything because he would do_ anything _for her. And he would NEVER leave her again,_ not ever.

_"You better not," she called, hearing his thoughts. However badly she'd been hurting and missing him those two weeks, it had only been_ two weeks _, not nearly_ 200 years.

_She'd tried_ so hard _to keep being angry at him. She'd been terribly sad at first, then fuming, then terrified, then bitter, and back to sad, the baby twisting and shifting her emotions so much that she was certain she'd actually scared Jack enough to take 10 years off his immortal life. But she'd also been hurt, hurt because_ every second _she could feel how much he suffered without her there, how much he_ missed _her, how he barely managed to hang on and resist finding her again. And she couldn't be mad at him for that, she couldn't lord that over him, he'd suffered enough. However badly she'd been hurting and missing him those two weeks, it had only been_ two weeks _, not nearly_ 200 years _. It seemed like the TARDIS, for all the silence she gave the Doctor, had seen how badly he'd hurt without her there and had spoken of nothing but how happy she was that Evy was back, how much the Doctor needed her, she'd listened to her describe the mess the Doctor had been without her. She would have her work cut out for her just getting him fighting fit again while also taking care of their child. She smiled just a bit, putting a hand on her stomach. While she'd been with Jack, they'd gone over everything she knew about the Silence, getting his point of view on it, a fresh perspective, and now...she had a plan._

~8~

_"Imagine you were dying," the Doctor said as he and Evy slowly approached their target, lying there in a wrecked ship, fires around it, helpless and powerless, "Imagine you were afraid and a long way from home and in terrible pain," he tipped his Stetson, "Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, you looked up...and saw the face of the devil himself. Hello, Dalek."_

_The Dalek tried to fire but its weapons were drained, "Emergency, emergency, weapon system disabled, emergency! Emergency! Emergency!"_

_Evy quickly flashed her sonic, disabling the locks on its casing lid, "Oh be quiet," she told it as the Doctor worked on opening it, "We need to know what you know about the Silence, everything. And if that means hacking into your data core...so be it."_

_The Doctor stepped back, removing a panel that would allow Evy to have better access to the data core wires and controls. He had to admit, in the near 200 years he'd been searching for information, he hadn't ever thought to start with the Daleks. And when he saw Evy smile and look at her sonic, at the information she'd extracted, he knew she'd been right in her assumption that 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' of course_ the Daleks _would know_ something _about another group that was trying to_ kill _him._

~8~

_The Doctor leaned around a corner on the docks of Calisto B that night, watching as a shadowy figure walked into a bar. He looked over at Evy and nodded, taking her hand as they followed. They walked in, straight up to the bartender, a red alien standing behind a grate, "Gideon Vandaleur," Evy spoke._

_"Get him," the Doctor demanded, "_ Now _."_

_"Who says he's here?" the bartender asked. The Doctor simply put the Dalek eyestalk on the counter. Needless to say, the bartender scurried off._

_The Doctor looked over at Evy to see her let out a little breath of air, a curious expression on her face, "You alright?" he asked, squeezing her hand._

_She nodded, she felt…odd, a bit…fuzzy? If that were the right word. She blinked, "Just a bit tired," she admitted._

_He nodded and pulled her over to the nearest table, helping her sit as they waited. He looked around and spotted a book on the table, 'Knitting for Girls' and picked it up, flipping through it._

_"We never did make it to that knitting lesson," Evy remarked, drumming her fingers on the table lightly._

_"Or the biplane lesson," he agreed. He looked up when a hooded figure, the one they'd been following, approached and sat down before them. It lowered its hood to reveal a pale man with blonde hair, wearing an eye patch, "Father Gideon Vandaleur._ Former _envoy of the Silence. Our condolences."_

_"Your what?" Gideon frowned._

_"Gideon Vandaleur died six months ago," Evy replied as the Doctor soniced the man still._

_She'd noticed that little fact after doing some digging with Jack. After she'd told him of Madame Kovarian, he'd spoken of one or two people he'd run into during his time as a Time Agent who also wore eyepatches. He'd only gotten the name of one, a man, Gideon Vandaleur. Jack and Martha had been able to get her access to technology from Torchwood and UNIT, which she'd pieced together to create a small program of her own. She'd used it to hack into the Shadow Proclaimation, looking for more information on Gideon. If one envoy of the Silence existed, then she could use him to find more...but there he was, Gideon Vandaleur, written off as deceased, six months ago. When she'd extracted the information from the Dalek, it knew of a few envoys of the Silence, including Gideon, but there he'd been listed as still living, the information recently updated, sending up a red flag_

_The Doctor leaned forward and looked into the eye of the Teselecta, "Can we speak to the captain, please?" the little soldier inside ran off._

~8~

_The captain stood before his chair in the Teselecta, looking out of the monitor at the Doctor and Evy, sparks flying around them from whatever the Doctor had done with the sonic._

_"Hello again!" the Doctor called, "The Teselecta, time-travelling, shape-changing robot, powered by miniaturized people," he grinned at Evy, "Never get bored of that!"_

_"What have you been up to since Berlin?" Evy commented, a knowing smile on her face. It was clear what they were doing. After finding out that Melody had been raised and trained by the mysterious Silence, they were clearly trying to learn more about the orgnaization, about why they wanted the Doctor dead, about who they were._

_"Doctor!" the captain glared, "What have you done to our systems?"_

_"They'll be fine, if you behave," he waved them off._

_Evy rolled her eyes, "You're using a unit that can disguise itself as Vandaleur for a reason. You're investigating the Silence..."_

_"Tell us about them."_

_"Tell you what?" the captain frowned._

_"One thing. Just one. Their weakest link."_

~8~

_The Doctor sat opposite a Viking-like alien in an eye patch in the Live Chess Arena, Evy standing in the first row of the stands, watching on. There was a chess table stationed between the men, one piece charged with electricity, the crowd cheering while Evy smiled at how her Link had managed to corner the Viking._

_"The crowd are getting restless!" the Doctor grinned, seeing the Viking hesitate to make the only move he had, "They know the Queen is your only legal move. Except you've already moved it 12 times, which means there are now over four million volts running through it," it looked up at the crowd, "That's why they call it 'live' chess. Even with the gauntlet you'll never make it to bishop four alive."_

_"I am a dead man," it agreed, "Unless you concede the game."_

_"But I'm winning."_

_"Name your price."_

_"Information."_

_"I work for the Silence. They would_ kill _me."_

_"They're going to kill me too, very soon, and my Link through me. I'm not just going to lie down and take that. I'd like to know why they think we have to die."_

_"Dorium Maldovar is the only one who can help you."_

_"Dorium's dead. The Monks beheaded him at Demons Run."_

_"I know. Concede the game, Doctor...and I'll take you and your Link to him."_

_The Doctor glanced back at Evy before nodding and tipping over his piece, conceding the game as the crowd booed._

~8~

_The Viking led the way through an underground tunnel, a lit torch in his hand while the Doctor and Evy followed behind, hand-in-hand, the Doctor slightly in the lead. Evy frowned, eyeing the skulls all around them._

_"The Seventh Transept," the Viking muttered, "Where the Headless Monks keep the leftovers. Watch your step, there are traps everywhere."_

_The Doctor grimaced at a scurrying noise, "Ew! I hate rats."_

_"There are no rats in the transept."_

_"Oh, good."_

_"The skulls eat them," he told them as the skulls moved to watch them pass, "The Headless Monks behead you alive, remember?"_

_Evy eyed the pedestals in the center of the next room, wooden boxes resting on top of them, "And some are in boxes because..."_

_"Because some people are rich and some people are left to rot. Dorium Maldovar was always very rich," he put the torch into a sconce and the Doctor stepped forward, scanning a beautifully decorated wooden box. The latch unlocked and Evy stepped beside him, sliding the door open to reveal Dorium's head…which coughed._

_"Thanks for bringing us here, Gantok," Evy called back._

_"My pleasure," Gantok replied, before pulling a gun and aiming it at them, "It saves me the trouble of burying you," he turned it on the Doctor, "_ Nobody _beats me at chess!"_

_The Doctor opened his mouth to warn Gantok that he was about to step on a trap but Gantok moved too quickly, falling through a trapdoor with a scream, "Gantok!" the Doctor shouted as they rushed over. They looked down into the pit to see Gantok surrounded by skulls, attacking him, eating him alive._

_"I'm going to be sick," Evy murmured, turning away with a squeamish look on her face, she never did well with skeletons...and now...knowing their heads were still alive in a way...she could feel her stomach churning at the thought._

_The Doctor quickly soniced the door closed again, the slamming waking Dorium who called out, "Hello? Is someone there?" Evy and the Doctor walked over, "Ah, Doctor! Evy! Thank God it's you. The Monks, they turned on me."_

_"Well...I'm afraid they rather did a bit," the Doctor nodded._

_"Give it to me straight, Doctor! How bad are my injuries?"_

_"Well..."_

_Dorium laughed, "Oh, your face!"_

~8~

"This is absurd!" Winston shouted, eyeing the Doctor as he stood behind Evy, who was sitting on a chair, his hands on her shoulders, "Other worlds, carnivorous skulls, talking heads. I don't know why I'm listening to you."

"Because we were all friends in another version of reality," Evy told him, absently rubbing the side of head, which was starting to throb a bit in the stirrings of a migraine, "You sense it don't you? Just like you sense something wrong with time."

"You mentioned a woman..."

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "We're getting to her."

"What's she like? Attractive, I assume."

"Hell."

Evy snorted, "In high heels."

Winston nodded, "Tell me more."

~8~

_"Oh, it's not so bad really," Dorium said, "As long as they get your box the right way up. I got a media-chip fitted in my head years ago, and the wi-fi down here is excellent. So I keep myself entertained."_

_"Dorium, you need to tell us about the Silence," Evy informed him._

_"Oh. A religious order of great power and discretion. The sentinels of history, as they like to call themselves."_

_"And they want me dead," the Doctor frowned._

_"No, not really. They just don't want you to remain alive nor Evy."_

_He rolled his eyes, "That's ok. I was worried for a minute there."_

_"You're a man with a long and dangerous past. But your future, the future of your family," he eyed Evy's stomach as she put her hand on it protectively, "Is infinitely more terrifying. The Silence believe it must be averted."_

_"You should've told us this at Demons Run," Evy remarked._

_"It was a busy day and I got beheaded."_

_"What's so dangerous about my future?" the Doctor shook his head._

_"On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the eleventh, when no living creature could speak falsely, or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered."_

_The Doctor pulled out his notepad, "'Silence will fall when the question is asked...'"_

_"Silence MUST fall would be a better translation. The Silence are determined the question will never be answered. That neither the Doctor, his Link, or his child, will EVER reach Trenzalore."_

_"I don't understand? What's it got to do with me?"_

_"The first question. The oldest question in the Universe, hidden in plain sight. Would you like to know what it is?"_

_"Yes!" they both shouted._

_"Are you sure?" he glanced past them, at the skulls as they turned to watch, "Very, very sure?"_

_The Doctor swallowed hard, taking Evy's hand as she stepped closer to him, wary of the skulls, "Of course."_

_"Then I shall tell you. But on your own head be it!" he laughed._

~8~

_The Doctor rushed into the TARDIS, carrying Dorium's head box, "It's not my fault!" he shouted from within, his voice muffled, "Put me back," Evy walked over to the console, preparing for flight as the Doctor tossed the box down on the jump seat and moved to join her, "Ow! I've fallen on my nose," the Doctor frowned, seeing Evy looking at the date and time of his death, looming ever closer, "Have you got wi-fi here? I'm bored already and my nose is hurting! We all have to die, Doctor...but you more than most. You do see that, don't you? You know what the question is now, you do see that you have to die!"_

~8~

The Doctor walked with Evy, holding her arm tucked with his, while Winston strolled beside them, into a large room, the Senate Room, "But what was the question?" he asked them, "Why did it mean your death?"

"Suppose there was someone who knew a secret," the Doctor said, "A terrible, dangerous secret that must never be told. How would you erase that secret from the world? Destroy it forever, before it can be spoken?"

"If I had to, I'd destroy the person who knew it."

"And silence would fall," Evy nodded solemnly.

The Doctor sighed, "All the times I've heard those words, I never realized...it was _my_ silence. My death. The Doctor will fall," he looked at Evy and kissed her knuckles, looking at her sadly.

"Why are we here?" Evy asked, looking around, trying to hide the tears in her eyes from him.

"This?" Winston looked around, his hand absently reaching for his revolver, "This is the Senate Room."

"But why did we leave your office?" she shook her head. It had happened suddenly, Winston had looked out the window, listening to them talk, and turned, telling them to walk with him.

"Well, we wanted a stroll, didn't we?" he glanced at the revolver in his hand, confused as to why he had it.

"I think we've been running," the Doctor breathed, tensing, pulling Evy closer, "Why do you have your revolver?"

"Well...you're dangerous company, Soothsayers."

The Doctor looked at his left arm, seeing a black marker on it, "Yes…" he looked at Evy, startled, as she took his arm, looking at it before turning to look around the room quickly, "I think we are."

"Resume your story."

~8~

_"Doctor, please open my hatch, I've got an awful headache..." Dorium called._

_The Doctor made an angry, frustrated noise, when Evy put a hand on his arm, "I've got it," she whispered, walking over to the box and picking it up to sit on the jump seat with a soft exhale, she'd felt a bit dizzy for a moment there._

_"Which to be honest means more than it used to!" Dorium added. Evy shook her head and opened the box, nearly laughing when she saw that he was upside down, "It's like some terrible weight pressing down on my..." he opened his eyes to see he was indeed upside down, "Oh, I see!"_

_"Why Lake Silencio?" the Doctor turned to lean against the console as Evy turned Dorium around, setting the box on her lap, "Why Utah?"_

_"It's a still point in time. Makes it easier to create a fixed point. And your death is a fixed point, Doctor."_

_"Been running all my life. Why should I stop?"_

_"You can't run away from this. Because now you know what's at stake," the Doctor's glance flickered to Evy, he knew_ exactly _what was at stake, and that was more than enough reason_ not _to die, "Why your life ends."_

_Evy stood, placing Dorium back down, and walked over to the Doctor, just winding her arms around his waist, resting her forehead on his arm as he kissed the top of her head, "Not today," he decided, turning to dial the console phone._

_"What's the point in delaying? How long have you delayed already?"_

_"Been knocking about. Bit of a farewell tour. Things to do, people to see, there's always more. I could invent a new color, save the Dodo, join the Beatles!" he picked up the phone, "Hello, it's me. Get him! Tell him, we're going out and it's all on me, except for the money and driving," he pressed the phone to his shoulder and turned back to Dorium, "We've got a time machine, Dorium...it's all still going on. For me, it never stops. Liz the First is still waiting to kill me…" he winced as Evy elbowed him, not wanting to think about all the people apparently trying to kill him, "I could help Rose Tyler with her homework, I could go on all of Jack's stag parties in one night."_

_"Time catches up with us all!"_

_"Well, it has never laid a glove on me!" he picked up the phone again, "Hello?"_

_"Doctor," a woman answered, a nurse, "I'm so sorry, we didn't know how to contact you. I'm afraid Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart passed away a few months ago. Doctor?"_

_The Doctor blinked, stunned, "Yes. Yes, I..."_

_"It was very peaceful. He talked a lot about you, if that's any comfort. Always made us pour an extra brandy in case you came round one of these days."_

_"Doctor?" Evy frowned, hugging him tightly._

_"What's wrong?" Dorium called._

_"Nothing," he breathed, "Nothing. It's just..." he sighed, hanging up the phone and looked at Evy. He reached out and cupped her face, "It's time," he whispered as tears filled her eyes. She shook her head but he could only offer her a small smile, "It's time."_

_He had to do this now. He couldn't wait forever, running, till all his companions, all his friends were dead. Then no one would be there for Evy, to try and help her, to protect her and watch over her, not that there would be much left of her to watch out for. But he needed_ someone _to be there for her if something happened to him. He needed to confront the Silence, now, find a way to stop them, before it was truly too late._

~8~

_The Doctor placed a small stack of blue envelopes on the table before the Vandaleur-bot, standing before him, with Evy, sadly, "Surely you could deliver the messages yourself," the captain spoke through it._

_"And cross his own time stream?" Evy shook her head._

_"Best not," the Doctor agreed._

_"According to our files, this is the end for you," the capatin continued, "Your final journey. We'll deliver your messages. You can depend on us."_

_"Thank you," he whispered, before turning and leading Evy to the door. He held it open for her to step out as the robot stood._

_"Doctor, whatever you think of the Teselecta, we are champions of law and order, just as you have always been. Is there nothing else we can do?"_

_The Doctor just lowered his head and stepped out after his Link, nearly running into her back as she stood, stunned, before him. He looked up, his eyes widening at the person standing only two feet away..._

~8~

"Why would you do this?" Winston asked, shaking his head, confused. He had gathered that once whoever was trying to kill the Doctor had done so, Evy would soon meet the same fate…he could see clear as day how much the man cared for his clearly pregnant love…why would he allow himself to enter such a situation as to speed along that process? "Of all the things you've told me, this I find hardest to believe. Why would you invite your friends to see your death?"

"I had to die," he shrugged, "I didn't have to die alone."

"Amy and Rory," Evy said fondly.

"The Last Centurion and the Girl Who Waited. However dark it got, we'd turn around, and there they'd be. If it's time to go, remember what you're leaving. Remember the best. My friends and Evy have always been the best of me."

"And did you tell them this was going to happen?" Winston asked.

"It would really help if you would let him talk," Evy remarked, looking at the Doctor's arm in alarm, seeing two more tally marks, before stepping past him, looking around the room warily, "We don't have the time."

Winston sighed, "And this woman you spoke of. Did you invite her?"

"Yes, she was there," the Doctor nodded, "River Song came twice."

~8~

_The Doctor sat on a red and white picnic blanket with Amy, Rory, and River just before Lake Silencio. He poured some wine into River's glass, "Napoleon gave me this bottle. Well, I say gave...threw..." he held up the bottle in a toast, "Salute!"_

_"Salute!" they cheered, clinking their glasses._

_"So when are we going to 1969?" Rory asked._

~8~

"Everything was in place," the Doctor recounted, "I only had to do one more thing. I only had to die."

~8~

_The Doctor lifted his hand in greeting as the older Canton waved back, before slowly lowering his arm once more, looking resigned and tired._

_"Who's he?" Amy asked._

_River stood, looking at the lake, as Rory stood too, "Oh, my God!" she breathed, drawing their attention. Amy rose to her feet, seeing an astronaut standing, knee deep, in the water._

_"You all need to stay back," the Doctor warned them, taking a few steps forward, "Whatever happens now, you do_ not _interfere. Clear?" he looked back at them a moment before walking over to the astronaut as they watched._

_"That's an astronaut," Rory whispered as he left, "That's an Apollo astronaut in the lake. Look."_

_"Yeah," she breathed, her attention focused on the Doctor._

_The Doctor walked up to the astronaut, his hand fishing in his pocket for something while seeming unable to look the being in the face, "Hello, it's ok, I know it's you…" the astronaut lifted its visor to reveal River Song, "Well then…here we are at last."_

_"I can't stop it," River said, her eyes filling with tears, "The suit's in control."_

_"You're not supposed to. This_ has _to happen."_

_"Run!"_

_"I did run. Running brought me here."_

_"I tried to fight it, but I can't, it's too strong."_

_"I know. It's ok. This is where I die. This is a fixed point, this_ must _happen, this_ always _happens. Don't worry...you won't even remember this. Look over there," he glanced back to where the trio was standing by the blanket._

_River did so and sobbed, seeing herself, "That's me. How can I be there?"_

_"That's you from the future. Serving time for a murder you probably can't remember. My murder."_

_"Why would you_ do _that? Make me watch?"_

_"So that you know this is inevitable. And you are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven."_

_She gasped as the arm of the suit rose, "Please, for Evy. Please, please just run!"_

_"I can't."_

_"Time can be rewritten."_

_"Don't you dare. Goodbye, River," he smiled and closed his eyes, accepting his fate, as she sobbed, shaking her head. There were five sonic gunshots and he jerked with each one. He paused a moment, frowning as he realized he was still alive, and opened his eyes._

_"Hello, sweetie," River grinned._

_"What have you done?!"_

_"Well...I think I just drained my weapon systems."_

_"But this is_ fixed _. This is a_ fixed point _in time."_

_"Fixed points can be rewritten."_

_"No, they_ can't _, of course they can't, has Evy not told you about MARS?!"_

_Before another word could be spoken, a flash of light changed time._

~8~

"Well?" Winston asked as the Doctor grew quiet, "What happened?"

"Nothing," he replied.

"Nothing?" he walked over.

"Nothing happened. And then it _kept_ happening. Or, if you prefer, everything happened, at once, and it won't ever stop. Time is dying. It's going to be 5:02 in the afternoon for all eternity. A needle stuck on a record."

"A record? Good Lord, man, have you never heard of downloads?"

"Said Winston Churchill."

Winston sniffed, "Gun smoke. That's gun smoke!" he lifted his gun, "I appear to have fired this."

"You did," Evy told him.

The Doctor looked down at the spear in his hand, "We seem to be defending ourselves."

"You are."

"I don't understand," Winston shook his head.

"The aliens who lead the Silence," Evy began, looking around, trying to spot what Winston and the Doctor clearly had, "Are remarkable, because they're memory proof."

"But what does that mean?"

The Doctor took her hand and started to try and back them out of the room, "You can't remember them. The moment you look away, you forget they were ever there."

"Except for me," Evy remarked as something on the ceiling caught her eye.

The Doctor looked at his arm to see one more mark, "Don't panic," he tried to reassure her, that sort of panic would not be good for the baby and he could already feel her shaking slightly, "In small numbers, they're not too difficult."

"Which is unfortunate for us," Evy swallowed hard, staring at the ceiling, "For they are most certainly not."

The Doctor spun around and looked up, seeing a massive amount of Silence hanging from the ceiling like bats. Suddenly a cylindrical device was thrown into the room and rolled across the floor, beeping, "Go!" he shouted, trying to help Evy quickly to the door before pulling her down to the ground to safety as the bomb went off, a flash bomb.

"Go!" a soldier shouted as armed men with eye patches ran into the room with guns, "Go! Keep the Silence in sight at all times, keep your eye drives active," the soldiers kept their guns trained on the ceiling as a woman in a black suit sauntered in.

"Who the devil are you?" Winston glared, "Identify yourselves!"

The Doctor squinted through the smoke to see a woman with red hair, "Pond," she said, "Amelia Pond."

He laughed out loud in delight, when he noticed Winston lift his gun, before dashing over, "No!" he pushed the gun down, "She's on our side, it's ok," but as Amy walked closer, he could see she too was wearing an eye patch, "No! No, Amy, Amy. Why are you wearing _that_?" he scrambled back to Evy's side, trying to block her from Amy as she lifted a gun of her own and fired at them both.

~8~

The Doctor came to on the Orient Express to the radio playing in the background, "The Government has again apologized for extensive radio interference caused by solar flare and sun spot activity."

He blinked blearily at the ceiling fan, spinning above him, before he jerked up, only to see Evy beside him on her side, looking a bit pale though. He let out a breath, reaching out to place a gentle hand on her stomach, feeling their child kicking beneath him, perfectly fine. Evy placed her hand on top of his, blinking awake. He dropped a kiss onto her forehead when a throat cleared. He looked over to see Amy leaning in the doorway of the office compartment, "Amy?" he asked cautiously, sitting up more, blocking Evy just incase.

"Those stun guns aren't fun," Amy remarked before leaning to the side to look at Evy, "I'm sorry," and back, "I wanted to avoid a long conversation. You need to get up though, we'll be in Cairo shortly."

"Amy Pond! Amelia Pond from Leadworth, please, listen to me!" he pushed himself up, "I know it seems impossible, but you _know_ me. In another version of reality the three of us were best friends. We...we travelled together, we had adventures..." he tried to remain stable but stumbled into the wall for support, "Amelia Pond! You grew up with a time rift in the wall of your bedroom. You can see what others can't, you can remember things that never happened…" Evy frowned, seeing a mess of pictures, drawings, sketches, hanging on the wall of their past adventures as the Doctor picked up a model TARDIS, "And if you try, if you really, _really_ try, you'll be able to..." Amy pointedly looked at the TARDIS in his hand and he glanced down at it too, "Oh. Oh!"

"Doctor," Evy called, nodding to the drawings.

"Oh..."

"You look rubbish," Amy remarked, eyeing them, still dressed in their dirty Roman garb.

" _I_ might," the Doctor conceded, tossing the TARDIS to Evy and smiling at her, " _You_ look wonderful."

Evy laughed as she put down the TARDIS.

"Don't worry," Amy smiled at them, "We'll soon fix that," she turned and held up a tweed jacket, shirt, and bow-tie in one hand and a tan 'western' outfit with a black shirt in the other.

"Oh!" Evy smiled, getting up, "Thank you!"

"Geronimo!" the Doctor laughed, taking the clothes.

~8~

The Doctor held the tan jacket up, helping Evy into it, a size or two bigger than she normally wore to accommodate her stomach, he himself already dressed and now shaved, though his hair was longer.

"Ok," Evy called as Amy sat at her desk with her back to them, "We're decent."

"How do we look?" the Doctor grinned as she turned.

"Cool," she replied.

"Really?!"

"No," both she and Evy said.

He shrugged, "Cool office though. Why do you _have_ an office? Are you a special agent boss lady? Not sure about the eye patch."

"It's not an eye patch," Amy told him, "Time's gone wrong. Some of us noticed. There's a whole team of us working on it...you'll see."

"And you've got an office on a train, that is _so_ cool. Can I have an office? Never had an office before! Or a train. Or a train-slash-office."

Amy ran over and hugged him tightly as Evy just fondly shook her head at him, "God, I've missed you!" she turned to Evy as well, "The both of you!"

"Ok, hugging _and_ missing now," the Doctor laughed, "Where's the Roman?"

"You mean Rory!"

"Mhmm," he nodded.

"My husband Rory, yeah?" she picked up a sketch pad with a drawing of a far more masculine Rory, "That's him, isn't it? I've no idea, I can't find him. I love him very much, don't I?"

"Apparently," the Doctor smirked at the sketch.

"Oi!" Evy whacked him on the back of the head with the pad.

He beamed and pulled her into a deep kiss, "God I _missed_ that," he whispered to her.

Evy gave him an odd look and shook her head, "Only _you_ would miss getting smacked."

"Only by you," he added, giving her another peck.

Evy rolled her eyes and turned back to the sketch, "This is really impressive Amy."

"I have to keep doing this," she told them, "I have to keep writing and drawing things. It's just so hard to keep remembering..." she leaned back against the desk.

"It's not your fault, time's gone wrong," the Doctor reassured her, "Do you remember why?"

"The lakeside."

"Lake Silencio, Utah. I died."

"But then you didn't. I remember it twice, different ways."

"Two different versions of the exact same event, both happening in the same moment, split time wide open," Evy sighed, "Just look at it," she gestured out the window, "All of history, the past, the present, even the future, is happening at once."

"Does it matter?" Amy frowned, "I mean can't we just stay like this?"

"Time isn't just frozen," the Doctor shook his head, "It's _disintegrating_. It will spread and spread and all of reality will simply fall apart."

There was a knock on the door and a soldier leaned in, Rory in an eye patch, "Ma'am, we're about to arrive. Eye drives need to be activated as soon as we disembark."

"Good point," Amy nodded, "Thank you, Captain Williams."

"Hello," the Doctor grinned widely as Evy gave him a little wave.

"Hello," he nodded to them, "Pleased to meet you."

"Captain Williams, best of the best, couldn't live without him," Amy remarked.

The Doctor held up the sketch as Rory walked off and laughed, "No," he made a face at the likeness.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked them.

The Doctor moved to answer but Evy snatched the sketch away, "Amy...you _can_ find Rory, but...you have to _really_ look."

"I _am_ looking."

He shook his head, "Oh, my Amelia Pond. You don't always look hard enough."

"Why are you older?" Amy eyed them, "If time isn't really passing, then how can you be ageing?"

"Time's still passing for me," the Doctor remarked, knowing Evy was aging by extension, the Silence had planned for her to be destroyed by his death as well, "Every explosion has an epicenter. I'm it...I'm what's wrong."

"What's wrong with you?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head, turning around, "I'm still alive."

~8~

Rory led the way through the Great Pyramid of Egypt, now officially declared America's Area 52, with a large spire on top of it. The Doctor held his eye patch before him, eyeing it with distaste as Evy walked beside him, Amy behind, "You have to put it on, sir," Rory remarked, seeing him hesitate. He'd offered Evy one as well but both she and Amy had motioned him to keep it.

"An eye patch," he muttered, "What for?"

"It's not an eye patch," Amy repeated.

"It's an eye _drive_ , sir," Rory told him, "It communicates directly with the memory centers of the brain, acts as external storage."

"Only thing that works on them. Because no living mind can remember these things…well, except Evy."

"You can remember them ma'am?" Rory looked at her, a bit surprised.

"Yes," Evy nodded, clearing her throat a little as it felt dry all of a sudden.

He frowned, "But that's impossible."

The Doctor grinned, "That's Evy in a nutshell."

Evy rolled her eyes, though there was a soft smile on her face.

Rory turned a corner and led them into a room with a series of containment chambers, the Silence within them, suspended in fluid, of some sort, "The Silence," he began, "We've captured over 100 of them now, all held in this Pyramid."

The Doctor walked up to one, standing before Evy as the Silent turned to eye him, "Yeah. We've encountered them before. Always wondered what _exactly_ they looked like."

"Put your eye drive on and you'll retain the information," Amy added, "But only as long as you're wearing it."

The Doctor looked at Amy, "The Silence have human servants. They all wear these."

"Well if the eye drives work," Evy reasoned, "Wouldn't they _have_ to?"

"This way," Rory nodded, leading them off, however he couldn't help but spot that the Silence were all watching them as the Doctor slipped on his patch, "They seem to be noticing you."

"Yeah," he sighed, taking Evy's hand, "They would."

"So why aren't the human race killing them on sight anymore?" Amy asked.

"That's a different reality now," Evy explained.

"What are the tanks for?" the Doctor eyed one.

"They can draw electricity from anything, it's how they attack," Rory stated, "The fluid insulates them. And I don't like how the way they're looking at you."

"Me neither," Evy agreed.

"Ma'am," Rory turned to Amy, "I'm sure it's nothing, but I should check it out. They haven't been this active in a while," he then motioned to the soldiers, "You two, upstairs, check all the tank seals. Then the floors above, get everyone checking."

"Sir!" the soldiers agreed and left.

"You go ahead, Ma'am."

Amy nodded, "Thank you, Captain Williams. Doctor, Evy, this way," she nodded to the side and led them on while Rory moved to check a tank.

"Captain Williams, nice fella," the Doctor remarked, "What's his first name?"

"Captain. Just through here."

"Just give us a moment, just need to...check something...Ma'am," he gave her a light salute before rushing back over to Rory, leaving Evy to stand with Amy.

"We're in," Amy called into her lapel, reporting back, "They're on the way."

The Doctor walked up to Rory who was checking the seals, "The loyal soldier, waiting to be noticed, always the pattern, why is that?"

"Sorry, sir?"

"Your boss, you should just ask her out, she likes you. She said so."

"Really, sir. What did she say?"

"Ah, she just sort of...generally indicated."

"What _exactly_ what did she say?"

"She said that you were a Mr. Hottie...ness. And that she would like to go out with you for...texting and scones."

"You really haven't done this before, have you?"

"No, I haven't…" he paused, "Something Evy is very thankful for," he smiled, "Means I don't get smacked!"

' _I thought you_ liked _the smacks?_ ' Evy asked him playfully.

' _I said I_ missed _the smacks,_ ' he corrected her.

"See you in a moment, sir," Rory called, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yes," he patted him on the shoulder and walked off, "Yes."

"Come on, Doctor," Amy motioned him on as he rejoined them, "Time for you to meet some old friends."

"Attention, all personnel," Rory came on speaker as they entered the King's Chamber, the control center of the whole operation, "Attention, all personnel. Please check all assigned containment units."

A female scientist in a lab coat stood speaking to a woman with bushy light brown hair in a black dress with her back to them, "You were right. Just his presence in the building caused the loop to extend by nearly four chronons," she motioned to a digital clock reading 5:02:57, the seconds oscillating between 7 and 8.

"Hello dear, we're home," the Doctor called, seeing River standing there in the middle of the room.

River turned around, "And what sort of time do you call this?" she moved away to reveal Kovarian tied to a chair behind her.

"The death of time," a man said. They looked over to see him standing to the side, leaning on a sarcophagus, "The end of time. The end of us all. Whichever you prefer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many questions in this chapter. Who is this mystery man? Did they capture Colonel Manton too? Is it another enemy? Or perhaps a friend? Mickey Smith? Could it be (OMG!) Captain Jack?! (I could see him wanting to give the Doctor a piece of his mind about what he did to Evy). Who did they run into after dropping off the envelopes? And why is the Doctor at the Lake seemingly so ready to die, while we now know Evy was still alive? Is it going to play out like in the episode? Where was Evy while he was at the Lake anyway? What is up with her too, feeling dizzy, shaky, fuzzy? Is something wrong with her? With the baby? Hmmm...
> 
> So sad this isn't a 2-parter episode eh? We'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out. Just have to say, Part 2, so excited about it I am beyond tempted to post it today, but I won't. Seriously though, I hope you love the little twists I throw in there.
> 
> I made a little assumption about the Daleks kind of/sort of being in league with the Silence here. I doubt they were working together, but I did think that the fact the Doctor was able to find Gideon meant that the Dalek must have known something. The enemy of the Doctor would probably keep tabs on his other enemies as well, sort of like the alliance that was formed at the end of Series 5.
> 
> As for the title, at the end of Closing Time Kovarian states that they made River a doctor today, and coupled with her robes, I'm just guessing/assuming that it was her graduation day, hence the change in title :) The 194 years, I got from the Doctor (if taken literally) saying he was 909 when the adventures dealing with the Silence started, and now being 1103, a 194 year difference.
> 
> Next chapter…we finally find out where River got her beloved handcuffs from. River is more like her mother than previously thought. The 'family' gathers together, one more time...will it be to mourn the Doctor and his family?


	22. The Graduation of River Song (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note, imagine the man looking something like James McAvoy with a few small differences to be detailed in the story...

"O Captain! My Captain!" River greeted.

"Oh shut up Riv," the man got a sour look on his face.

River glared, "I told you to stop calling me that!"

"And I told you to stop with the 'O Captain' rubbish, we can see that worked well."

"It's not rubbish," River rolled her eyes, "Your mother taught me that poem."

"That's only because it's her favorite poem of the 19th century by a human poet so what's say we both just stop eh?"

She smirked, "Not a chance."

He sighed mockingly, "Didn't think so…"

"Sorry," the Doctor cut in, "Sorry, Doctor _very_ confused," he pointed at Amy, "Amy," then River, "River," then the scientist, "Scientist," and then the man, "And you are?"

"Can't say," he shrugged.

"Why not?" Evy asked.

"'Cos I don't technically exist yet but I do now since all time is happening at once," he sighed, "It's all very complicated but I'll exist very soon in which case mine and River's paths will cross in the distant future well, my distant future, her past if you want to go in that direction, and given the type of woman she is, hell in heels, well, _I_ say heels, she tends to prefer boots though, I'd have been dragged along on this adventure anyway trying to clean up her mess," he shot a joking, mock glare at River, "Since she has yet to fully understand exactly how wibbly-wobbly time can be and just how fragile. So…I decided to swing by anyway, see if I couldn't help out before I have to go…any questions?"

The Doctor looked at Amy who sighed, "Yes, he _does_ talk like that a lot, I understand him almost less than I understand you."

Evy however just eyed him closely a moment, her hand absently rubbing her very swollen stomach as she did so. He was tall, with a slightly muscular build, features just a hair away from being chiseled, and brown hair that stuck up a bit. He had light blue eyes and a slightly button-like nose that should have been out of place on such a masculine face but seemed to work. He was dressed in baggy black pants with a simple blue jumper on, though he kept his hands in his pockets, rocking back on the heels of his black shoes as he did so.

She couldn't deny he was very familiar both in appearance and mannerisms as well as his stance but she couldn't, for the life of her, place where…

"Oh, why couldn't you just die?" Madame Kovarian remarked, growing weary of the man's rambling.

"Oh come on Madame K," the man walked over to her and squeezed the cheeks of her face as she glared at him, "Lighten up," but there was a hint of protectiveness in his tone, just a slightly smaller hint of menace, as he stepped back from Madame Kovarian and draped his left arm around River who playfully rolled her eyes.

Anyone could tell that the two were very close, very flirty but in a friendly way as opposed to one of attraction. It reminded Evy a bit of how Amy interacted with the Doctor after she realized she really and truly loved Rory.

"You should really stop antagonizing her," River remarked to him.

"Don't worry," he tapped her nose, "You're my best friend, you'll always be my very favorite target."

Evy shook her head, "So...if you can't say who you are...what should we call you?"

River smirked, "Oh so many options. My personal favorite is pain in my a…"

He quickly covered her mouth with his hand that had been around her shoulder, "Be nice Riv!"

River narrowed her eyes and a moment later the man quickly pulled his hand away from her, "Mature Riv," he commented, wiping his hand on his pants, "Real mature."

River smirked triumphantly, "Learned _that_ one from your father."

The man just rolled his eyes, "You…" he looked at the Doctor, "You go by John Smith yeah?"

"Um…" the Doctor looked at Evy, thoroughly confused, and back at the man, "Yes?

"Brilliant," he grinned widely and walked over, holding out his right hand to him, "For now I'll be Johnny then."

"Johnny?" River laughed.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked her defensively as he looked at her over his shoulder, still shaking the Doctor's hand.

"Bit ironic don't you think?" River raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh shut up," he pouted.

Evy shook her head, "Ok…now I'M confused…"

Johnny shrugged, stepping away from the Doctor, letting go of the man's hand, "I tend to have that affect," and then he seemed to notice the place they were standing in, "Love what you've done with the pyramids Riv. How did you swing all this?"

"Hallucinogenic lipstick," she replied, "Works wonders on President Kennedy. And Cleopatra was a real pushover."

"I always thought so," Johnny nodded, like it was perfectly natural to know Cleopatra.

"She mentioned you."

"What did she say?"

"Put down that gun."

"Did you?"

"Eventually," River laughed as Evy and the Doctor just looked back and forth between the two, slightly confused and amused at the same time.

"They're _flirting_!" Kovarian blanched, "Do I _have_ to watch this? Why couldn't you have just finished _him_ …" she sneered at the Doctor, "Off?"

"It was such a basic mistake, wasn't it, Madame Kovarian?" River stepped away from Johnny to face the woman who had stolen her childhood, "Take a child, raise her into a perfect psychopath, introduce her to the Doctor, to Evy. How could I not love them?"

The Doctor shook his head, finally snapping out of his confusion, "It's not funny, River. Reality is fatally compromised. Tell me you understand that."

"Dinner?" she turned to him.

"I don't have the time. Nobody has the time, because as long I'm alive, time is dying. Because of you, River."

"Because I refused to kill you? You forget, I've _seen_ what that does to Evy..." she shook her head, not wanting to relive that memory, she had _nightmares_ about what she'd done to the woman in Berlin, "I couldn't..."

"Oh, so you care about Evy that much do you? Oh, that's sweet of you!" he started to walk towards her, "Isn't that sweet?"

"Get him!" Amy shouted.

"C'mere you!" he reached for River but the soldiers pulled him away.

"I'm not a fool, sweetie," River remarked, stepping closer to Johnny as he crossed his arms, watching, "I know what happens if we touch."

"I'm sorry, River," he shook his head, before twisting out of the soldiers grasp, "It's the only way!" he lunged for her again, but then something made him freeze.

"Evy!" Amy gasped, fearful.

He whirled around to see Evy stumble, nearly falling backwards before Amy caught her. He completely focused on her, ignoring River as he ran to her side where Amy helped her into a chair, "Evy!" he gasped, taking her hands as he knelt before her, "What's wrong? What is it?"

"I…" she swallowed, shaking her head, "I don't know. I just got…really lightheaded for a moment…" she looked at him, apologetic, "Sorry," she'd ruined one of his epic moments.

"Don't be," he reached out, cupping her face as he moved a lock of hair behind her ears, "Are you alright now?" he asked her.

She nodded, taking a deep breath, "Better," she reached up and took his hand from her face, squeezing it.

"Cuff him," River called, seeing him distracted. It was the _only_ _way_ to keep everything safe.

Two soldiers reached forward and pulled him to his feet, handcuffing his arms behind his back, "Oh, why do you always have handcuffs?" he muttered.

"Sorry," Johnny called, "Graduation gift. I thought they'd be a lot less trouble than the lock picking kit I got her for her birthday..." he paused a moment, considering his words, "That _sounded_ better in my head...sorry."

"Graduation gift?" Evy shook her head, rubbing it.

Johnny beamed and nodded, "We graduated from Luna University today...if today is still today that is."

The Doctor eyed the man, "Please tell me you're not an archaeologist too," he nearly whined.

Johnny's face soured again, "God no! I graduated in Quantum Physics, rubbish program though, way behind in the science, it was so easy I think I actually passed a few exams in my sleep and..." he trailed off, seeing them staring at him, the humans in shock that he thought something like Quantum Physics was that easy and the Time Lords in confusion, so he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, clearing his throat, "Gotta love those time travel theories eh?"

River rolled her eyes at him, "You didn't _have_ to stay at the university then," she turned to Amy, "All I heard, every day, was how it was _so_ easy and _such_ rubbish. Gave me such an earache..."

"You two went to school together then?" the Doctor asked.

Johnny beamed, "Oh yeah, I got to show River around on her first day!"

"The beginning of the end," River joked, "Never left me alone after that."

"And I never will," Johnny promised her, "I'll always be there for you Riv. Till the end of the Universe."

River smiled, "Mutual."

The Doctor shook his head, Johnny's words reminding that he needed to get back on topic, and looked at River, "River, it's the only way. We're the opposite poles of the disruption. If we touch, we short out the differential, time can begin."

"And I'll be by a lakeside, killing you," she stated.

"And time won't fall apart. Reality will continue. There isn't another way."

"I didn't say there was, sweetie. There are so many theories about you and I, you know, about Evy and I as well…"

"Idle gossip."

"Archaeology."

"Same thing," both he and Johnny said at once, glancing at each other a moment.

River walked over to them, "There are theories that I murder you. That I marry you…"

"Oh!" he grimaced, "I don't want to marry you!"

"Ew," River mimicked his expression, absolutely disgusted, like there was something so wrong about it, "I don't want to marry you either!"

Johnny laughed, "Good thing too," he smirked, "He's old enough to be your great, great, great, great, great…"

River covered his mouth, "He's old, we get it," before patting his cheek.

"Oi!" the Doctor pouted.

"But the fact still remains, I don't want to _murder_ you either."

Amy looked up, feeling something drip on her head.

"This is no fun at all," the Doctor remarked.

"It isn't, is it?"

Amy gasped, alarmed, "Doctor...what's that?"

They all looked up to see a line of water dripping down from the stones.

"The pyramid above us..." the Doctor tensed, moving back towards Evy as she reached up and took his hand behind his back, "How many Silence do you have trapped inside it?"

"None," Kovarian smirked, "They're not _trapped_ , they never have been. They've been waiting for this, Doctor...for you."

Rory burst into the room, "They're out! All of them!" gunfire echoed behind him as soldiers ran to help him seal the door, setting a large plank of wood as a lock across it.

"No one gets in here!" a soldier shouted.

Rory turned to Amy, "Ma'am, my men out there should be able to lock this down, we have them outnumbered."

"And you're wearing eye drives based on mine, I think," Kovarian laughed, "Oops!"

"What do you mean?" the Doctor turned to her but then the scientist from before screamed, her eye drive becoming electrified, "Help her!" he shouted as she fell to the floor, "Help her!"

Johnny ran over to check on her while Rory helped another soldier whose eye drive sparked, "She's dead."

The Doctor groaned as his eye drive went off, "Eye pads off, now, remove them!"

Evy stood up quickly and reached out, gingerly pulling his eye drive off, Amy yanking her own off as it went haywire. Johnny straightened as he hadn't been wearing an eye drive like the others for some reason.

"The Silence would never allow an advantage, without taking one themselves," Kovarian grinned, "The effects will vary from person to person...either death or debilitating agony. But they will take you _all_ , one by one…" and then, her own started to spark, "What are you _doing_? No, it's _me_...don't be stupid, you _need_ me. Stop it, stop that!"

The Doctor turned to River, "We could stop this right now, you and I."

"Get it off me!"

"Amy, tell her!"

"We've been working on something," Amy told him instead, "Just let us show you..."

"That's my point. There's _nothing_ you can do. My time is _up_."

"We're doing this for _you_! For _Evy_! For _your child_!"

The Doctor swallowed hard, "Then people are dying for me. I won't thank you for that, Amelia Pond."

"Get it..." Kovarian strained.

"Just let us _show_ you!" River shouted.

"Please," Amy whispered as the Doctor shook his head, "Evy, tell him!"

"I can't," Evy replied, her stomach twisting in knots about all this.

Amy turned to Rory, "Captain Williams, how long do we have?"

"A couple of minutes," he replied as the aliens rammed the door.

"That's enough," Johnny nodded, stepping over to Evy and gently taking her arm, leading her to the back steps of the chamber, "We're going to the Receptor Room right at the top of the pyramid. I hope you're ready for a climb," he muttered as the Doctor followed, not about to let someone drag Evy away, River behind him to keep an eye on them.

"I'll wait down here, ma'am, buy you as much time as I can," Rory called as Amy moved to follow.

"You have to take your eye drive off," she turned to him.

"Can't do that, Ma'am. Might forget what's coming."

"But it could activate any second!"

Rory aimed his gun at the door, "It _has_ activated, Ma'am," she looked down to see him clenching a fist, shaking, "But I'm no use to you if I can't remember," he lifted his hand to steady his gun, "You have to go NOW, Ma'am."

"Yes. Yes, thank you, Captain Williams," she nodded and left.

Rory fought against the effects as Amy paused to look back, the door burst open, the wood shattering as the pain grew too great and Rory fell to his knees, ripping the eye drive off.

"Rory Williams…" the Silence raised their hands at him, "The man who dies and dies again," the electricity started to build, "Die one last time and know she will _never_ come back for you."

But indeed she did.

Amy ran between them, wielding a machine gun, firing at them. Rory groaned behind her and she dropped the gun once the last Silent before them fell, moving to help him up, "Come on, you...up you get! You alright?" he nodded and they started to leave, more would certainly be coming.

"Amy..." Kovarian called, her eye pad half-dangling off, "Help me."

Amy tensed and walked over to her, "You nearly took Evy's baby away. You _did_ take my baby from me. And _hurt_ her. And now she's all grown up and she's fine, but I'll _never_ see my baby again."

"But you'll still save me though. Because THEY would, and you'd never do anything to disappoint your precious Doctor, your darling Evy..."

"Ma'am, we have to go...now!" Rory called.

Amy leaned close, "The Doctor and Evy _are_ very precious to me, you're right. But do you know what else they are, Madame Kovarian? _Not here_ ," she shoved the eye patch back on, "River Song didn't get it all from you...sweetie," and with that, she turned, looping her arm through a puzzled Rory's, and led him out of the room, Kovarian screaming behind them, "So, you and me, we should get a drink some time."

"Ok."

"And married."

"Fine."

~8~

Johnny helped Evy to the top of the pyramid, the Doctor close behind with River. Evy tensely walked over to the ledge, half leaning/half sitting on the side of it while the Doctor stepped closer to a large beacon device, "What's this?" he inspected it, "Oh, it's a timey-wimey distress beacon. Who built this?"

"I'm the child of the TARDIS, I understand the physics," River replied.

Johnny snorted, "Yeah, you _understand_ them alright, if I hadn't rewired…" River just elbowed him to cut him off.

"Yes, but that's _all_ you've got," the Doctor looked over at them, "A distress beacon!"

"I've been sending out a message, a distress call," River explained, "Outside the bubble of our time, the Universe is still turning, and I've sent a message everywhere, to the future and the past, the beginning and the end of everything. 'The Doctor is dying, please, _please_ help us!'"

"River, River, this is _ridiculous_ ," he turned to her, "That would mean _nothing_ to _anyone_ , it's insane. Worse, it's _stupid_! You _embarrass_ me."

"We barricaded the door," Amy shouted as she and Rory ran up, "We've got a few minutes…just tell him. Just tell him, River."

Evy took a few deep breaths, her stomach starting to twist more than before.

River shook her head, stepping back closer to Johnny as he put a comforting arm around her, knowing the Doctor's words stung her, "Those reports of the sun spots and the solar flares. They're _wrong_ , there aren't any. It's not the sun, it's _you_ , the sky is full of a million, million voices, saying 'yes, of course we'll help.' You've touched so many lives, saved so many people. Did you think, when your time came, you'd really have to do more than just _ask_? You've decided that the Universe is better off without you, but the Universe doesn't agree."

"River, _no one_ can help me," the Doctor tried to get through to her, "A fixed point has been _altered_ , time is _disintegrating_."

"I _can't_ let you _die_!" River shouted, glancing at Johnny a moment.

"But I _have_ to die."

"Shut up! I can't let you die without knowing you are loved by so many, and so much. By Amy, by me, by no one more than Evy…" she looked at the woman sadly.

"River…you _know_ what this means. We are ground zero of an explosion that will engulf _all reality_. Billions upon _billions_ will suffer and die."

Evy closed her eyes shut tight, biting her lip as the twisting grew into more of a sharp pain.

"I'll suffer if I have to kill you, if I'm responsible for putting Evy through that hell… _I'd_ suffer…"

"More than every living thing in the Universe?"

"Yes!"

"River, River, why do you have to be this? Melody Pond..." he looked at Amy and Rory, "Your daughter. I hope you're both _proud_."

"I'm not sure I completely understand..." Rory murmured.

"We got married and had a kid, that's her," Amy explained quickly.

"Ok."

Johnny blinked and took a step away from River who looked at him, concerned.

"Oh…" Evy breathed out, nearly stumbling to the side, using her left hand to brace herself on the side of the pyramid and her right to cup her stomach, "Oh!"

"What?" the Doctor was at her side in an instant, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Evy winced, "It's…"

"What?" he asked, "Cramps…or…"

She reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, just under the bow-tie, and pulled him down, "What do you _think_?" she snapped, before turning and putting her other hand on her stomach, leaning back against the wall as another round hit.

Unfortunately for them, Time Lord labors from the start of contractions, as opposed to the length of the pregnancy, were ridiculously short and painful. The baby would be there in anywhere from the next few minutes to a half hour.

"Contractions?" the Doctor swallowed hard, he spun to Amy, "Amy, uncuff me, _now_!"

Amy ran over and quickly uncuffed him so he could cup Evy's face in his hands, checking through the Link how much time they had.

"Oh my God!" Rory gasped, but when the Doctor looked back, he saw that Rory wasn't looking at Evy, but instead at _Johnny_ , who was standing beside River, looking at his hands as they faded in and out, "What's happening?"

Johnny, despite what was happening to him, just grinned and looked over at the Doctor and Evy, "Can't exactly have two of us here at once can we...well, not now at least," the Doctor's mouth dropped open at the implication while Evy's eyes widened, "That's too much of a paradox for the timeline to hold, has to correct itself doesn't it?"

"Oh my God…" Evy breathed as she stared at the man before her, slowly fading away.

He winked at her, "Hello mum," he said softly before turning to nod at the Doctor, "Goodbye dad."

And then he faded out completely, leaving them in stunned silence, "Doctor," Evy groaned out, groping for his hand.

"Where did he go?" Amy looked around, "Did he…is he…"

The Doctor shook his head fiercely and turned to Evy, helping her stand from where she'd slid down the wall, his arm around her, "He's gone to his own timeline, he's alive…" he reached out and put a hand on Evy's stomach as she put her hand over his, his other hand taking her free hand, letting her squeeze it at the pain, "He…" he breathed in her ear.

Their baby was a boy. They were going to have a son any moment.

He rested his head against Evy's as she tried to breathe before he turned to River, "River…the baby can't be born here, not like this, not in a broken timeline…" he looked at her meaningfully, "Not in a soon-to-be aborted one."

River's eyes widened and she shook her head, "No, no…I _can't_ …"

"You _have_ to," he nearly begged her as Evy let out a groan, squeezing his hand more and her eyes shut.

"I can't _kill_ you!" she shouted at him.

"Then how about _me_?" another voice, sounding far too much like the Doctor to be real, said.

The group looked over to the corner of the pyramid where another Doctor, hair similarly long, was sitting on the ledge, holding a high-level Perception Filter dangling in his hands. Well, it had to be high-level considering _none_ of them had even had an inkling that he'd been there with them all this while.

"What…" Rory looked between the two Doctors, stunned, "There's _two_ of them?"

He grinned, "Look got meself some new daps," he pointed to his black shoes which were just like the Doctor's. And that was all Amy needed, to know that this was the Ganger Doctor.

"You _stole_ yourself some new daps," the Doctor corrected his counterpart, "From my closet."

"Well, technically, it's _our_ closet," the Ganger corrected.

River shook her head, working it out as well, "It wouldn't work, it has to be _him_ ," she nodded at the Doctor.

"How do you know it's me and not him?" the Doctor countered, glancing at his hand in concern, he'd lost feeling in it.

"I stopped myself killing YOU," River pointed out, "And we're here. It's _you_."

"You sure about that?" the Ganger grinned, "You can't be certain which of us it was. You wanted to save _him_ , and you have because now...now you have to kill _me_."

"Doctor…" Evy whimpered, feeling the contractions getting closer together.

He wrapped an arm around her and looked at the Ganger a moment. They'd found him just outside the bar where they'd met the Teselecta, apparently he'd been researching the Silence and his quest had led him there as well. When they'd told him what they'd learned, he'd insisted on taking the Doctor's place, realizing two Doctors didn't die at the Lake, only one had, and he was a real Doctor after he stepped into the TARDIS to get there. _He_ had been the one at the Lake, the two of them watching his interactions with the others from the TARDIS monitor. But when time had broken, they knew that the Ganger Doctor would be trapped with them in the new timeline, they couldn't risk the Silence or Kovarian knowing that there were two Doctors running around, hence they'd reset the Perception Filter Evy had used on Mars to its highest setting, no one could possibly know he'd been with them since time had split, lurking in the background, following them, silent.

"Doctor," Evy whispered again, "The baby is coming…the baby is coming _now_ …"

He shook his head and looked at his Ganger, they hadn't exactly planned this much to happen, "You're sure?"

His Ganger, however, was looking at Evy with a sad smile on his face, "We loved her before the Link and..." he looked at himself, "We love her, even without it," he nodded back at her, "She's having our child, a son who needs a father, his REAL father," he smiled just a bit, "You know us, we'd die for her in a half a heartbeat," he nodded to himself, "And I will, for her, and for you, so you can be with her. As I promised."

The Doctor could feel tears in his eyes at what his Ganger was doing for him, "Thank you," he breathed.

The Ganger just waved him off and looked at River, "Well, it's not quite the Doctor but almost-the-Doctor will have to do, won't he?"

River could only nod numbly. She didn't want to kill either Doctor but…if the choice came down to THE Doctor or his Ganger…she hated to admit it but the original…he had to survive, for the Link, for Evy, for their child.

"It's ok," the Ganger smiled and walked over to her. He looked at the others, "You ready for this?" they nodded and he pulled River into a comforting hug so she would know he didn't blame her, not at all.

And then time began to move on.

~8~

River cried as she shot the Ganger Doctor, who could only close his eyes with a smile, clutching Evy's necklace once more, content to know that the real Doctor was safe, that she was safe.

~8~

Amy ran forward but Rory and Future River held her back.

~8~

Amy cried over what she believed to be the Doctor's body.

~8~

To all the world, the Doctor's body burned on a small boat floating on Lake Silencio.

~8~

The distortions in time disappeared.

~8~

" _Tick tock goes the clock  
He gave all he could give her  
Tick tock goes the clock,  
Now prison waits for River."_

~8~

A hooded figure carried Dorium's box solemnly back to its pedestal, "Who's carrying me?" he shouted, his voice muffled, "I demand to know...I'm a head, I have rights! I want my doors open this time!" the figure placed the box gently back in its spot, "I demand that my doors are open," and slid the box open, walking away, "Is it you? It is, isn't it?" the figure stopped and turned, "It IS you, I can sense it. But how did you do it? How could you _possibly_ have escaped?"

The Doctor dropped his hooded cloak to the floor, grinning, "Fully animated, independant doppelgangers, created from the Flesh," he replied, "Time said I had to be on that beach, never said which me it was though."

He and Evy had watched everything his Ganger had done from the moment the others arrived in Utah. The Doctor couldn't help but notice that his Ganger had seemed to inherit the flinch he had developed over the near 200 years without Evy at the mention of her name, never having managed to find a woman to take Evy's place, not that he believed it was at all possible to begin with. _He'd_ gone out there, _he'd_ been the one to nearly get shot by River the first time, _he'd_ been the one to sync the diary the Doctor had given him in the diner, _he'd_ been the one to face the astronaut. But when time distorted, he'd managed to make it back to the TARDIS where they'd given him the Perception Filter, to keep the secret safe as they went to investigate. Kovarian clearly hadn't cared if they got Evy or not, knowing that when one died the other was as good as dead. That had been the main reason the Ganger had wanted to take the Doctor's place, neither of them wanted Evy to suffer that fate.

"Which balances out the Universe a bit," he admitted, "It could only handle two Doctors for so long."

"So you're going to do this, let them all think you're dead?" Dorium frowned.

"It's the only way," the Doctor nodded, knowing that those who mattered most to him, his companions, knew he was alive and that they were fine.

~8~

_Martha looked up from where she was washing the dishes when she heard the sound of the Universe in her backyard. Her eyes widened ad she turned around, "Mickey!" she shouted, "It's time!"_

_She ran out of the door to the blue telephone box that had appeared, running into it as her husband ran to the phone to put out the call._

~8~

_Donna couldn't sit still as she fidgeted beside Shaun on the sofa, her daughter Jenny on her lap, giggling at how her mother's jittering was making a bumpy ride for her. She could almost feel Evy's excitement and pain but she remembered the feeling well from her own experience giving birth. She glanced over at Sarah Jane Smith, who was sitting stiffly, tense, nervous, and exited, to Jack, who was pacing back and forth around the room, while River Song leaned against the wall, watching Jack pace in amusement. The Luke, Rani, and Clyde were playing with the younger kids, a new addition to Sarah Jane's family named Sky, along with Ricky and Johnny Smith, to keep them occupied as their mother worked away and their father returned with the latest companions, Amy and Rory._

_"Where is she?" Amy asked as she burst into the room, "Is she here? Did we miss it?"_

_Donna smiled at them, about to reply, when a splitting baby's cry echoed into the room from the backyard, through the open TARDIS doors, "Just in time I'd wager," she laughed._

_Everyone stood up and listened intently as the cries quieted. A few tense moments passed, watching the blue box, until Martha stepped out with a wide grin, "It's a boy!" she shouted, waving them to the TARDIS._

_And then…it was a mad dash of who could get there first._

~8~

_Evy looked down at the bundle wrapped in blue in her arms, her little boy, her son, with tuft of soft brown hair, very much like the older version they had seen. She still couldn't believe they hadn't sensed him as a Time Lord, but, with their own child being so near birth and him being their child, the sensations had cancelled out, not to mention with time so warped, it was difficult for them to sense anything._

_"Look at him," the Doctor breathed as he sat beside her on the med-bay bed, his arm around her as he observed their child, "He's beautiful."_

_"Very handsome," she agreed, "Like his father," she grinned up at him and he kissed her deeply._

_"Now," he pulled away, "What to name him..."_

_"We only have 24 names to sort through Theta," she reminded him._

_"I know, but do we call him Theta Jr.?" he grimaced at the sound of that._

_She hummed a moment, "What about Sigma?"_

_"Sigma?"_

_"You WERE called Theta Sigma in school. And he IS your son…"_

_"Sigma," he tested it out, nodding, "Yes, hello there Sigma," he cooed at his son, who just squirmed at the finger poking at him._

_Evy laughed, "And just like you in the mornings too."_

_"Ha ha," he laughed sarcastically._

_"Theta…" Evy said after a moment as she looked up at him, "What do we tell the others his name is?"_

_He frowned, it was true, they couldn't tell them his true name and it would be decades before the boy would be allowed to pick a name for himself, "You know, I don't know," he eyed her a moment, "What do you think?"_

_"You want me to nickname him too?" he smiled and nodded, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she paused in thought, before murmuring, "LJ."_

_"What?" he laughed, not sure what the name was supposed to be, they couldn't name a child just LJ._

_She nodded, "It stands for Little John, so as not to be confused with his cousin Johnny, but still harkening to his father, eh John Smith?" she added with a smile, "He'd be Johnathan Smith...Johnathan Ianto Smith on Earth."_

_He smiled, it was very endearing, combining not just his alias but honoring her psuedo-brother and rescuer at the same time, "What do you think?" he asked his son as he yawned and blinked up at him, "Eh? LJ? Sound good?"_

_The boy gurgled a bit and Evy laughed, "'Anything if you shut up,'" she translated, "Oh he'll be a fussy one won't he?" she smiled before looking up at the Doctor, "A handful, like his father."_

_"And utterly brilliant, like his mother," the Doctor added, recalling what 'Johnny' had rambled earlier. Now it all made sense why it was so ironic for him to call himself Johnny just because HE went by John Smith._

_There was a soft knock on the door to the med-bay and the Doctor laughed as his son mumbled in a gurgling manner about all the rude people trying to interrupt his sleep, "Yes I know," he reached forward and squeezed his son's hand softly, "They're quite rude aren't they, but you know what?" he kissed LJ on the head, "They love you very much, so be nice, yeah?"_

_The baby made a sort of huffing noise and Evy laughed, "Yes you do 'have to,'" she told him, before looking up, "Come in!"_

_And just like that, all their friends crowded into the room to see the newest addition to their family._

_"Everyone," Evy held him up a bit, "Meet LJ Ianto Smith," she beamed at Jack as he gasped, tears in his eyes._

_"Our son," the Doctor added with a soft smile as he looked down at his little family._

_"River?" Evy looked up at the woman, "Would you like to hold him?" River's eyes widened as she nodded, stepping almost timidly to the bed Evy was lying on. She reached out, gently taking the boy who would one day be her very best friend into her arms, and smiled down at him._

~8~

"Then they can all forget me," he continued, "I got too big, Dorium, too noisy...time to step back into the shadows."

"And Dr. Song?" he asked, "In prison all her days?"

"Her days, yes. Still leaves quite a few hours open in her schedule."

"So many secrets," Dorium sighed, "I'll help you keep them, of course..."

"Well, you're not exactly going anywhere, are you?"

"But you're a fool nonetheless. It's all still waiting for you...the fields of Trenzalore, the fall of the eleventh. And the question!"

The Doctor mock saluted him, "Goodbye, Dorium," before turning to walk away down the tunnel.

"The first question!" Dorium shouted after him, "The question that must never be answered, hidden in plain sight. The question you've been running from all your life. Doctor who? Doctor who? Doc...tor...WHO?!"

He closed the door to the vault behind him and sighed, but then a soft cooing reached him. He looked up to see Evy standing there before the TARDIS, a bundle in her arms as she swayed softly, their son sleeping peacefully, finally getting his much fussed over rest.

He grinned softly and walked over, looking down at his son, dropping a kiss onto his forehead before placing another on Evy's. She smiled at him, reaching down to take one of his hands, leading him into the TARDIS, which disappeared moments later.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone else think that it's one day going to play out like...Doctor Who? And he says, Doctor Me. Lol, I could see that happening :) 
> 
> Woo! Did you like the twists? Sigma has arrived, in more than one sense. I hope you like the 'human' name for Sigma, he's a little John Smith lol. With Ianto as a middle name, because how could Evy NOT name her son after him? I debated between him being Smith or Daniels, but in the end I had two reasons for Smith. Little John Smith could only work if he was a Smith, like his dad goes by. And...let me just say, there's a surprise waiting for you all in Series 7 that would need LJ to be a Smith and not a Daniels. Won't say what though :)
> 
> I know a few of you are probably a bit concerned with the Doctor going too domestic, having an 'ordinary' family in the TARDIS, and I feel like a boy would be more of an adventurer himself, literally like a mini-Doctor running around, more ready to get out there, get dirty, get in trouble, give his parents a run for their money and possibly a few dual heart attacks along the way. I knew I wanted the Doctor and Evy's child to be here, grown up, and that he would be River's best friend and that their relationship would be very close with a whole 'flirty' aspect to the dynamic of their relationship. It's fitting, in a way, because I can see LJ/Sigma and River paralleling the relationship that their parents (Amy and the Doctor) have come to have, friends with a hint of flirting. Sort of poetic that is.
> 
> In fact, if you look close, LJ/Sigma was actually hanging in the background in ALL the major River adventures. He was the other person at the picnic mentioned in the Library, the contact who got River out of Stormcage in the Angels episodes as well as her ride back, her ride to get to the Gallery/the one who gave her flak about dating a Nestene Duplicate in the Pandorica, the 'old friend' who gave River the lock picking device for her birthday that she used to break into the Silence ship...he was even the boy who was to show her around Luna University! See? I've been dropping little snippets of him all over the place :)
> 
> I hope the twist with the Ganger was believable. I wanted to make this series more different than the Academic Series. Here, the Ganger survived being melted and came back. This was actually what I thought would happen in the show as soon as they found out about the Flesh. I actually didn't really like the Teselecta idea, I wanted it to be the Ganger...but then again, that would mean a Doctor DID die at the Lake, which I wouldn't want. Oh well, I shifted it here. And I think that the way/reason he died was very noble :) And now we know the Doctor with the medallion was the Ganger, even though our Doctor does have one too...but...what sort of design is on that necklace, and will he ever finally give it to Evy? We'll find out :)
> 
> And I just wanted to add a little blurb about Evy and how she keeps in contact with previous companions. I don't believe I've specifically mentioned this or not, but, unlike in the Academic Series, where companions are both the Professor and the Doctor's companions, they are not Evy's companions. They are the Doctor's companions, BUT! They are Evy's friends. Even though I know that the Doctor is very good friends with all his companions, he's the one who takes them on, who feels more responsible for them, who has to 'leave them behind.' Evy is able to develop a deeper friendship without the extra 'guilt' that the Doctor seems to feel which, I believe, is why she is so set on keeping in touch with them after they leave. It hurts the Doctor to look back on his companions, his 'children' of time, and see them age and die. But Evy looks back on her friends to see them age and live.
> 
> Next chapter...the papoose makes a reappearance. LJ has a bit of a potty mouth. Someone wants a panther for Christmas. Evy's going to kill the Doctor...again...but this time she might have an audience...


	23. The Time Lords, the Widow, and the Wardrobe (Part 1)

The spaceship loomed over the Earth, guns preparing themselves along the outside, "People of Earth you stand alone!" a voice boomed over a speaker…when suddenly a series of explosions were set off, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

The Doctor ran through the ship, just barely managing to stay ahead of the explosions, jumping to the sides of crumbling walls, the heat of the fires popping up behind him licking his back. He fell forward and looked back at the approaching flames, jumping up and rushing, the sonic held out before him. A door opened at the end of the corridor and he leapt through, falling into a roll and springing up, shutting the door behind him before the fires could reach it…

And despite being able to do all that and survive...only moments later he'd somehow ended up dangling from the edge of the ship with nothing but a thick wire to hang onto. He groaned, spotting a spacesuit lying a few feet away on the deck, "Come here spacesuit!" he strained for it, "Come to Doctor!" he gave a shout as another explosion shook the ship, the blast sending the suit flying out into space, knocking him after it. He flailed about for a few moments before finally managing to grab the boot of the suit and pulled it to him, maneuvering himself to try and get in it as it plummeted to Earth.

~8~

A rather average blonde haired woman rode her bike down a dark country lane, dressed in late 1930s attire, when something crashed into the field beside her, sending her falling off the bike and into a bush. She pushed herself up, squinting, when she saw a light blue glow emitting from the field. She stood, cautiously making her way over to it, stopping by a fence to see a large crater, before pushing past it and rushing over. There, lying in the middle, was someone in a spacesuit, clearly lying face down, but with their helmet facing up.

"Hello?" she called, "Hello!" she quickly made her way to the crater, "Hello...are you alright?" whoever it was groaned in pain, "Are you hurt?" she asked as she walked into the crater, "Did you fall?" and then she looked up, "Where did you fall from?"

"Helmet…" he managed to groan out.

"Oh, alright…just…just let me…" she knelt down beside him, "Oh I don't want to hurt you…" and lifted his outer visor, then a second one, only to reveal the back of the Doctor's head, "Oh!"

"I can't see!" he gasped, "I'm blind!"

"Oh, no love, no, I think you've just got your helmet on backwards. How did you manage that?"

"...I got dressed in a hurry."

~8~

The same woman stepped into a quaint country house to see her young, ginger son still awake, standing by his telescope, "Cyril what are you doing awake?"

"The moon's full apparently," her daughter remarked, walking in, dressed in her nightgown with a glass of water, her brown hair in pigtails, "It's _too_ interesting."

"It's astronomy," Cyril rolled his eyes, magnified by his thick glasses.

"Don't make up words. He's always making up things and breathing…"

"Where's your father?" she looked around.

"In the garden," Cyril replied.

"What is he doing in the garden?"

"Agriculture."

"You're not fooling anyone!" his sister shouted as she walked out of the room.

She shook her head and walked over to Cyril, leaning down, "Listen Cyril, tell him that I've borrowed Mr. Goldsmith's car, that I found a spaceman in a field, possibly an angel, but he's injured and I can't get his helmet off so I'm having to take him into town to find a police telephone box, alright?"

"Alright."

"Good boy!" she smiled, before leaving him to his telescope.

A moment later the door opened and her husband entered, "Was that your mother? Where's she going?"

"Out," was the simple reply Cyril gave.

~8~

The Doctor groaned as she drove him, badly, down the street, pulling over to the side, the car jerking as she parked, "Ow!" he complained, "Oh…did we just bump into something?"

"No, no."

"We seem to bump into quite a lot of things," he tried to rub his head.

"Well a lot of things get in the way, it's hardly my fault," she turned off the car and hopped out, "You need to take that silly thing off."

"Can't, impact suit, it's still repairing me."

"Repairing you?" she opened his door, reaching in to help him out.

"Yeah, well, you know," he let out a large groan as he stepped out of the car, "That's the idea!"

She glanced at the large, blue, police telephone box a few feet away and began to lead him to it, "Won't it repair you back to front?"

He quickly checked himself, "No! No."

"Well that's good…" and then he walked into a street lamp, "Oh! That's a street lamp."

"Yes," he staggered back, "I got that impression."

"Round this way," she tugged him around it and over to the box, avoiding his swinging arm before him, "Don't you want me to take you to hospital or something? Or you're welcome to come to our house."

"No, no, no, I'm fine. I just need to find…" he started to check himself, "The um…the key."

"Oh, do you want me to do it with a pin?" she smiled, pulling one from her hair, "I'm good with a pin," and got to work.

"Multi-dimensional, triple encoded, temporal interface. Not really susceptible to pointy things," he moved to lean against the box and nearly fell to the ground when he missed.

There was a click, "Got it!"

"Ok…suddenly the last 900 years of time travel seem a bit less secure," he mumbled before sticking his hand out, missing her, "Thank you for taking care of me," she moved around him to take his hand, "You didn't have to, you know, you've been very kind."

"Oh don't be silly. It's Christmas Eve. No one should be alone at Christmas."

"What did you say your name was?"

"Madge. Madge Arwell."

"If there's ever anything that I can do for you let me know."

"How?"

"I don't know. Make a wish, that usually works."

"Does it?"

"Well it did for me, you're here aren't you?" he laughed, "Well, don't wait around here. Just…off you go home, I'll just go and uh…" he leaned back, as though looking up at the box, "And wait inside here," she nodded and turned to leave as he entered the box, "Ow!" he cried out with a crash. She turned to see him standing in the average police box, "Wrong one. Do you think we can try again?"

~8~

Evy looked back from where she was crouched before LJ, sitting in the little bouncy swing set their companions had given them when LJ had been born only a couple months ago, to see the Doctor walk in, dressed in an impact suit but with his helmet on backwards. She laughed, shaking her head, as she got up and went over to him. They had been trying to work out a system of how to have adventures, which they were both loathe to give up, especially LJ, who _desperately_ wanted to go on one, while keeping their son safe. So the Doctor had suggested they take turns. With the Spatial Shifters Evy had made, they were both relatively safe and, with one of them in the TARDIS, they could activate it if they sensed things getting tricky…but, clearly, there were flaws in that plan.

She reached up and twisted the helmet, unlocking it and pulling it up. The Doctor took a large gasp of air. She shook her head at him, "This isn't working," she remarked.

' _You really expected HIS plan to work?_ ' the TARDIS called in their minds.

"Thanks sexy," the Doctor rolled his eyes. Though, he did have to agree, the last few adventures, both of them had found themselves in situations that would have never happened had they had another person with them, and, to be honest, he would much rather be the one beside her if she were in danger, "What do you propose?" he asked, curious.

Evy just smiled.

~8~

"Doctor!" Evy called as she stepped out of the TARDIS, parked in the backyard of a lovely, if old, country manor. They had debated parking her inside, but, given how disused the manor was, they wanted to test out the floor strength before parking her there, they could move her later. She tugged her jacket a bit closer to her from the chilly air as she looked back at the TARDIS, waiting for him, "We're going to be late! The Arwells will be here any day now and we need to get everything ready!"

"Coming," the Doctor shouted, stepping backwards out of the TARDIS and shutting the door. He turned around and Evy couldn't help the small smile that bloomed on her face seeing him…wearing a papoose.

LJ was attached to his chest, facing out at her, his back to the Doctor as he hung there, all dressed up in his winter thermals even though it was a fairly short trip to the manor, they didn't want to take any chances. So he had his little boots on with a little hat and scarf and mittens to keep him warm, looking as unamused as a baby could.

She laughed and walked over to them, leaning forward to take LJ's mittened hands in her own before glancing up at the Doctor, "And I'll have no complaints from you for this," she warned him, "You can take him off, I had to hold him 24/7 for _two_ _years_."

LJ gurgled and Evy returned her attention to her son, _I look ridiculous_.

The Doctor smiled as his son spoke...well, spoke Baby that is. Time Lords were very developed mentally, able to understand and comprehend things, even in the womb, however LJ would develop at a human rate for a while now. It would take time for his physical, motor, and cognitive skills to kick in, walking, actually talking, would come in time.

"Oh no," Evy shook her head, pulling the Doctor out of his thoughts, "The two of you look very cute."

He laughed as LJ seemed to huff, _I don't want to look CUTE, I want to be COOL_.

She shook her head, "Sorry dear, but you've got your father's genes, that makes it very difficult."

"Oi!" the Doctor mock glared, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?!"

Evy stood up and gave him a quick peck, "He'll _always_ be cute."

He sighed, "Oh…so I'll never be hot eh?"

"Only when you're being clever," she smiled at the joke, "But better cute than funny though," he nodded, thinking back to what Mels had said, "And better cute than an idiot," she ruffled his hair as well.

LJ fussed, _One day I'll look badass_.

"Oi!" Evy pointed a warning finger at him, "Language mister."

He looked up at her, pouting a bit, _Sorry mum_.

The Doctor smiled in thought, "Though…one day…he just might," he trailed off, recalling what the 'Johnny' they'd seen in the pyramid had looked like.

Evy saw the image in his mind and finally realized where she'd seen his mannerisms before. He was built like the Doctor's present incarnation with a bit of his tendancy to flirt, had his last's hair and personality, and ninth's features and natural serious expression and stature.

"No idea where he got his fashion sense from," he pointed at her, "I'm going to blame you for that one."

She laughed as LJ moved, she _did_ see a bit of herself in the older version of her son as well. Her present nose, her last incarnation's eyes, and her ninth's simple sense of style. She smiled, looking at LJ, "Don't worry," she put her hand on his head, "I promise not to pick out your clothes for you when you get older. And I'll _never_ let your father pick out your clothes period. You'd have a closet full of bow-ties."

"Bow-ties are cool," the Doctor defended with a mock pout.

Evy gave him a little kiss, especially when LJ argued that no, bow-ties were not.

~8~

The Arwells stood outside an old, country manor on Christmas Eve, three years after Madge had helped her spaceman angel. She put down her suitcase, her children on either side of her as they looked up at it, "Is it haunted?" Cyril asked.

"Is it drafty?" her daughter added.

"Oh this is no good," she sighed, "Where's Mr. Cardew he's supposed to be here?" she walked up to the door and knocked.

"Maybe it's haunted by the ghost of uncle Digby," Cyril remarked.

"Uncle Digby is still alive," his sister reminded him, "He's in a home in Battersea."

"Mr. Cardew!" Madge knocked.

"But why do we have to come here?" Cyril frowned.

"Because of the bombing stupid," his sister rolled her eyes.

"I like the bombing, it's exciting."

Madge walked back over as her daughter turned to her, "Will father be here? Well, he will, won't he? You said he'd meet us at the house."

"He'll be here!" Madge said tensely, her hand tightly gripping a telegram in her pocket, "Of course he will, you don't need to keep asking about it."

The children looked over, hearing a door open inside, "Father!" they shouted, running up to the main doors.

"Sorry!" a man called from inside and they stopped, that was _not_ their father, "It's the door! It's developed a fault…" they heard banging as someone tried to open it.

"Oh hello!" Madge picked up her case and walked up, "Mr. Cardew…" she stopped short when the door fell backwards, off its hinges, to the floor, with a thump.

The Doctor appeared in the doorway with a grin, "Here we go. Well come in! In you come!" he ushered them in, "Mind your step now, don't worry the back door is still, broadly speaking," he lifted up the door back into the threshold, "Operational," and turned to them, "Right then, may I take your cases?"

Madge nodded, setting down her case, "Thank you."

As did her daughter, "Thank you."

And Cyril, "Thank you."

"Lovely," he clapped, "Would you mind carrying them for me?" he stepped over Madge's, heading or the stairs, "I need to show you around."

"Oh no wait!" Madge shouted and he stopped halfway up the stairs, "Who _are_ you?"

"I'm the caretaker."

"But you're not Mr. Cardew."

"…I agree."

"But then I don't understand, are you the _new_ caretaker?"

He started down the stairs, "Usually called the…"

"Doctor!" a woman called, moments before a door opened and the sound of a crying baby could be heard. The small family looked over to see a woman in dark brown 'western' garb with a green shirt enter the room, a baby boy held in her arms, a dark blue blanket falling off the side of her arm as the child fussed, "Your son wants you."

The Doctor walked over to them, "Oh," he reached out and took the infant from her, bobbing him up and down in his arms, trying to soothe him, "What's the mean mummy done, hmm?" Evy reached out and smacked him upside the head. He winced, "Joking! I was joking!"

"Not funny," she remarked, reaching out to take the baby's little hand in her own, "He wanted me to find you," she told him, "I believe his exact words were 'What if he makes an epic speech and I'm not there to hear it?'" she laughed, "He's already got aspirations of being just like his daddy," she cooed, "Wants to learn 'the art of epic speechery' as early as possible."

The Doctor laughed at that, the baby quieting, "And he's just like his mother then," he smiled at her softly, "Trying to do the impossible and succeeding."

_It's not impossible_ , LJ grumbled, calming now that he was in his father's arms, _Just a bit unlikely_.

The Doctor laughed, shaking his head, "He _is_ our child."

Evy smiled at him, she would never say out loud, but she _loved_ the sight of him holding the baby. It warmed her hearts because she knew he was his happiest when surrounded by family, and now he really had one of his own. And then she noticed the trio standing by, eyeing them oddly, "Oh, hello!" she greeted, walking over to them, "I'm Evelyn Daniels, please, call me Evy," she reached out and shook Madge's hand.

"Madge," she introduced herself, "And these are my children, Lily and Cyril," she smiled as the Doctor walked over with the baby who was tugging at the Doctor's bow-tie, playing with it, "Who's this?"

"This is LJ," Evy walked over, picking up the edge of the blanket to place it over the child more, "Our son."

"And LJ is short for…"

"LJ," the Doctor answered.

She blinked, "Just...LJ?"

"Well it was either that or Doctor Jr. and that's a rubbish name."

Evy rolled her eyes at him, "LJ is short for Little John. We didn't really like how John Jr. sounded and he's already got a cousin Johnny, don't you dear?" she tickled the baby.

Madge nodded, working something out, "Then...you're John Daniels?"

The Doctor laughed, "Oh no, as I was saying, usually called the Doctor, or the caretaker, or get off this planet…or sometimes, John Smith."

She frowned, looking between them, "You're not…married?"

"Not on Earth," the Doctor smiled, completely oblivious to the woman's discomfort and shock.

Evy, though, just smiled at the woman, "Has he shown you the house yet?" she asked them and they shook their heads, "Well then, if you'll follow me, I can give you the tour."

"Yes right!" the Doctor cheered, heading off with her, LJ in his arms, "Lots to see. Whistles stop tour, take notes, there will be questions!"

~8~

Evy pushed open the doors to a sunlit sitting room, very posh, "Tour of sitting room," the Doctor announced, "Just chairs, bit pointless without a television so I made some repairs."

Evy hit a switch in the hallway and the chairs started to zoom around each other as the kids looked on in awe. Evy leaned forward and put her arms around them, "I know…"

~8~

Next came the kitchen.

"Kitchen!" the Doctor cheered, nodding to the side, "That's a cooker, probably, and these are taps," he patted them, "Hot, cold…lemonade."

"Lemonade?" Cyril asked.

The Doctor grinned, "I know."

Evy laughed, "Enjoy the lemonade, but don't _ever_ let him cook you breakfast," she warned the family, "I only _just_ managed to contain the fire to the stove last time."

~8~

The Doctor stepped onto the staircase, but his foot fell back down, "Staircase," he muttered, pouting at it.

"Should have let me handle this one," Evy remarked, giving him a peck for his pout.

"We'll have to _walk_ up…" he grumbled, before letting out a large sigh and heading up, Evy shaking her head behind him.

~8~

"We sleep up there," the Doctor pointed to a doorway with a small stair at the corner of the upstairs hall, "Stay away. Beware of panthers."

"Panthers?!" Madge's eyes widened.

"They're terrifying. Have you never seen panthers?"

"LJ wanted a panther for Christmas," Evy told her, "Most certainly his father's son."

"Cyril!" the Doctor called as the boy tried to peek up the stairs.

~8~

Evy opened the door to a beautiful, mature room, gold and light blue, "And here's your room Madge," she smiled.

"Grown up," the Doctor grimaced, "Your basic boring…" he reached forward and shut the door quickly.

~8~

"And now we have Lily and Cyril's room," Evy announced, opening the last door and leading them in. It was a small room, made even smaller by the sheer amount of things the Doctor had managed to pack into it, planet models, toys, plants, among other things.

"I'm going to be honest, masterpiece, the _ultimate_ bedroom," the Doctor grinned, handing LJ over to Evy and dashing around the room, pointing out as much as he could, "A sciencey-wiencey workbench, a jungle, a maze, a window disguised as a mirror, a mirror disguised as a window! Selection of torches for midnight feasts and secret readings. Zen garden, mysterious cupboard, zone of tranquility. Rubber wall, dream tank. Exact model of the rest of the house…"

"Don't worry," Evy reassured Madge, absently tugging her son's hand away from her hair which he'd taken to pulling on, "We checked, there're no Tenza here. Don't want to get trapped in a dollhouse, believe me."

"It's not quite to scale," the Doctor nodded, not seeming to notice Madge's odd look, "Apologies. Dolls, with comical expressions! The Magna Carta, a foot spa, Cluedo **,** a yellow fort…"

"Where are the beds?" Cyril asked.

"Well I couldn't fit _everything_ in, there had to be sacrifices. Anyway who needs beds when you've got…" he pointed at Evy, who pulled a lever on the wall, dropping two hammocks down, "Hammocks!"

Evy looked at Madge's pale face and overwhelmed expression, "I know," she nodded sympathetically. The Doctor was quite a lot to take in.

Cyril walked over to a hammock, trying to get on, "But how do you get on?"

"Watch and learn kid," he motioned Cyril away and backed up, preparing himself.

Evy's eyes widened, "Oh no, don't do…"

But it was too late, he'd already taken a running leap…

And completely missed _both_ hammocks, landing between them. Evy looked down at LJ as he gurgled in her arms and smiled, he was _laughing_ …well, at least that answered what exactly he'd been doing when the Doctor had been an idiot before leaving Nixon. Thank God he'd been laughing.

"For God's sake!" Madge shouted.

He jumped back up, "This hammock has developed a fault."

' _Really?_ ' Evy asked him quietly, ' _I think your brain's the one with the fault. I mean, honestly, chimneys last Christmas, hammocks this Christmas…_ ' she shook her head.

"Can you please stop _talking_?" Madge snapped, "Can you please just _stop_?"

"Sorry," the Doctor murmured, turning to her as he picked himself up.

"Children go downstairs."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"We leaving?" Cyril added.

"Yes," she shook her head, "No. I don't know, just please…go downstairs!"

"You don't need to shout," Lily said quietly as they left.

Madge sighed as the door shut partially behind her children and turned to the Doctor, who ducked under the hammock as Evy moved over by him, "Why are you doing all this?"

"I'm just...trying to take care of things," he shrugged, "I'm the caretaker."

"That's not what caretakers do."

"Then why are they called 'care takers?'"

"They're father's dead."

"We're sorry," Evy said quietly, holding LJ closer as the boy quieted, seeming to sense the topic at hand.

Madge shook her head, her husband had been recruited for the war as a pilot…lost over the Channel only a few days ago, "Lily and Cyril's father, my husband, is dead and they don't know yet because if I tell them _now_ then Christmas will always be what took their father away from them and _no one_ should have to live like that. Of course, when the Christmas period is over I shall…" she swallowed hard, "I don't know why I keep shouting at them."

"Because every time you see them happy, you remember how sad they're going to be and it breaks your heart," the Doctor said, a horrible knowing in his eyes that Madge couldn't help but see.

"Mother come and see!" they heard Lily call from downstairs.

Cyril joined her a moment later, "Mother, you've _got_ to see this! Come on!"

"Because what's the point in them being happy _now_ if they're going to be sad _later_ ," he continued.

"Mother!" Cyril shouted.

"Mother!" as did Lily, "Are you coming?"

"The answer is, of course, because they ARE going to be sad later," he finished. He offered her a small smile, "Now, we better get downstairs, I think they may have found the main sitting room."

"Mother!" Cyril yelled.

"I repaired it," he whispered. Madge gave him one last look, before stepping out of the room. He hesitated, looking down a moment.

"Sigma won't _ever_ be that sad," Evy spoke quietly, coming to stand beside him. He looked at her, "Not ever, _never_ ever."

He nodded, "He will _never_ lose us," he promised his son, leaning down to kiss the top of his head the same time as Evy did, the two of them kissing one side each, the baby fussing a bit, moving as though to try and wipe the kisses off his head, making the Doctor laugh before taking Evy's hand and walking out of the room with her.

They found Madge just entering the sitting room, gaping at the large tree they'd set up, with ribbons and baubles all around it, streamers behind it, toy rockets spinning around it, a train on a track below it, with a large blue present beside it.

The children looked back at them, their mouths open, "We know," they both said with a smile.

"Look at that present!" Cyril ran over to it, reading the tag, "It's for me."

Lily rolled her eyes, "It says to _all_ of us."

"I'm youngest, I get to open it first."

"It doesn't say who it's from. Mother, who left this here?"

Madge turned around just in time to see the family walk out of the room. She sighed, "That man is quite ridiculous, you must stay away from him, from the lot of them."

"I like them," Lily said.

Cyril nodded, "I like them too."

"And it's a nice tree," Lily looked over at it, "Isn't it?"

"It's the best tree in the world!"

Madge smiled a bit, "Yes, yes I suppose it is."

"Say it mother, go on, please, say the thing you always say."

Madge took a breath, steeling herself, before she turned to her children with a smile, "This Christmas is going to be the best Christmas ever," she hugged them tightly, kissing their heads, trying to hold back her tears.

Cyril however, was focused on the present, the glowing present with the whispers coming from it.

~8~

The Doctor looked up from where he was working at a table in the attic, the TARDIS behind him, to see Lily enter. He knew he should have worked on the wires inside the box, the sparks from the wires were quite loud.

"You were lying about the panthers," Lily remarked.

"Famous last words," he smiled a moment, before a spark made him flinch.

Lily looked around moment, "Where's Evy?"

"Putting LJ to bed," he flashed the sonic on the wires, "You know for a boy who loves sleeping as much as he does it's surprisingly hard getting him to bed."

Lily nodded, "And why have you got a phone box in your room?"

He winced as another spark went off, "It's not a phone box it's the…wardrobe. I've just painted it to _look_ like a phone box."

"Well, what are you doing?"

"Rewiring."

"Why would you rewire a wardrobe?"

"Have you seen the way I dress?" he grinned as she smiled.

"Who are you?" she asked after a moment, walking over to him, "Really, who are you?"

One of the wires beeped and he looked down at it, "Your brother...where is he?"

~8~

Lily stepped back into the attic after having peeked into the bedroom to check on her brother, "Still in bed, asleep."

He nodded to himself, "Ok," flashing the wires with the sonic, "Faulty then," but the wires just beeped again and he frowned, "You're _sure_ he's still in bed?"

~8~

The Doctor quietly pushed the door to the bedroom open, "See," Lily whispered, pointing to where it appeared someone was lying in the second hammock.

The Doctor just shushed her silently and made his way over to Cyril's bed. He pulled down the blanket to see a few teddy bears lying there in his place, "Oh, he's good. The old bear and duvet, eh? Classic," he paused a moment and turned to run out, thundering down the stairs with Lily behind him and into the sitting room where Cyril reached out from the now open present to grab a torch, before disappearing into it once more, "Cyril!" he dropped to his knees and crawled into the box after him.

"What's happening?" Lily stopped short just outside it, "I don't…what is _that_?!"

"With me!" he reached out, "Quickly!" and took her hand, "Come on!" before pulling her in after him, helping to set her down in the forest within. It was beautiful, a winter wonderland, a forest of evergreens with snow all around, "In you come," he shivered a bit, "Bit cold, never mind. Cyril!" he turned around, trying to spot the boy, "Cyril!"

"Where are we?" Lily asked, looking around, as he moved to crouch by a cracked open silver egg with a torch of his own.

"In a forest, in a box, in a sitting room," he glanced at her, "Pay attention. He's about twenty minute ahead of us…"

"But we _just_ saw him."

"Time moves differently across the dimensional planes," he commented off handedly as he walked through the trees and back out, "What do they _teach_ you in schools these days?"

Lily rushed after him, "But…I don't understand where we are."

"Well, we've gone through a dimensional portal…thingy…"

"Well, what's that supposed to be? Where did it come from?"

"It was a present and it wasn't supposed to be opened until Christmas Day. Honestly, who opens their Christmas presents early?" Lily stared at him, "Oh shut up, everyone," he turned and continued on, Lily following a moment later, slightly afraid of the whispers on the wind.

~8~

"I don't understand," Lily looked up at the trees as they passed between them, "Is this place real? Or is it fairy land?"

"Fairy land?" he scoffed, "Oh grow up Lily! Fairy land looks completely different. Now, these are Cyril's footprints," he knelt down with the light, shining them on two sets of prints in the show, "And these are the ones he was following. Notice anything."

"The other footprints are getting bigger."

"Yes," he followed them with the light, "Whatever your brother's following...it's growing."

"Well then we have to get after him!" she jumped up and ran off, knocking into the branches of a tree as she passed, shaking the snow off. But within the snow that fell, a large ice drop formed, and dangling at the end of it was a shining, silver orb. Lily stopped, staring at it, wide eyed.

"It's ok, you're fine," the Doctor stood and walked over to the tree, "Don't worry."

"Is that tree alive?"

"Of course it's alive, it's a _tree_."

"But is it dangerous?"

"Every rose has its thrones."

Lily held out a hand, about to touch it, but held back, "They're like...Christmas tree decorations."

He grinned, "Yeah! Naturally occurring Christmas trees!" and breathed one in deeply, pressing his nose to the tip of the branch, "Oh how cool is that?!"

"I don't understand..."

He straightened, looking around, "It's a big Universe, everything happens somewhere. Call it a coincidence, call it an idea echoing among the stars. Personally, I call it my Link's brilliant idea for a Christmas trip or it…should have been…" he trailed off, his grin slipping to a frown as he listened to the wind, "Do you know the difference between wind and trees talking to each other."

"What?"

He held up a finger to his lips, licking the other and holding it up to feel for the wind, "No wind. Evy and I've been here many times but I've never heard the trees so _active_ , something's wrong…" he turned around, listening, "What are you doing? What are you up to?" he eyed one of the baubles, gasping when he saw a wooden king appear in it, "I'm sorry Lily, I really am," he reached back and took her hand as he pulled out his torch, "But there is something very _wrong_ in this forest and your brother's right in the middle of it…oh dear God," he suddenly paled, stiffening.

"What is it?" Lily looked at him, alarmed.

He gulped, "Evy is going to _kill_ me."

~8~

Evy sighed as she stepped out of the TARDIS, LJ in her arms, fussing far too much to want to go to sleep, he wanted his daddy to tell him a story about Jeff, or, as everyone else knew him, Father Christmas, first. She stopped short, seeing the Doctor was gone and frowned. She closed her eyes, following him through the Link and let out a breath when she found where he was, "Oh I'm going to _kill_ him."

They had agreed to take trips _together_ , giving them both a better chance to get out alive, bringing LJ with them in a papoose or a pram so he'd be close and in sight and protected at all times.

LJ wiggled in her arms and gurgled up at her.

She looked down at him and nodded, "Yes, yes, you can watch."

And then she headed out of the room, heading downstairs, ready to go after the Doctor. She walked straight into the sitting room, "Doctor!" she shouted through the box, already knowing he was too far away to actually hear her spoke words, but the shouting made her feel better, "Get back here!"

She grumbled to herself and knelt down, about to crawl into the box when she heard, "Lily and Cyril Arwell where are you?!" and then Madge appeared in the sitting room, stopping short when she saw Evy about to enter a box with a forest inside it, "What…"

"No time," Evy remarked, crawling in. She paused a moment when she saw Madge still standing there, "Are you coming or not?"

Madge rushed forward.

~8~

"I don't understand," Madge called, sounding very much like her daughter, as she struggled to put on her coat, following Evy as she briskly walked through the snow on the ground of the forest that somehow managed to fit into the box in the sitting room, "What's going on?"

"Well, as far as I can tell," Evy began, "Your son opened his present early, wandered in, then decided it would be a good idea to follow whatever it was that hatched out of that silver bauble egg we passed on the way in and the Doctor and Lily then followed him to try and get him back while we try to track all three of them down before the Doctor manages to do something stupid that gets us all in trouble. Any questions?"

"Yes!" Madge shouted.

"Me too," she agreed, walking on, using her sonic as a torch and also to scan for the Doctor. A small smile made its way onto her face when she realized just how much 'Johnny' had sounded like her.

' _Seems he inherited the not breathing thing…_ ' the Doctor commented.

And so she mentally whacked him.

~8~

"Why would you bring us to this place?" Lily jogged beside the Doctor, trying to keep up with him. He'd been walking at a fairly normal pace but then winced as though someone had hit him before picking up speed.

"Well, it was supposed to be a treat, this is one of the safest planets Evy knows," the Doctor explained, "There's never anything dangerous here…" and then the ground shook as Lily looked at him, alarmed. He winced, feeling Evy mentally smack him again, "There are sentences I should just keep away from…" he took a breath, "We need to go. Quickly."

"Why?" Lily asked as he began to walk even faster.

"Well, if we managed to find Cyril and get back before the danger occurs, there's a slightly better chance that Evy won't, in fact, kill me."

~8~

' _Ha!_ ' Evy shouted in his head. She was most certainly going to kill him for this. One Christmas without disaster and danger looming on the horizon, just _one_ , that was all she wanted.

Her thoughts were cut off by a thump to the right that shook the ground. She looked in that direction, holding LJ closer as he squirmed to try and see through the trees, tugging on her hair and gurgling that he wanted to go see what it was...she sighed, _just_ like his father.

"Madge," she called as the woman moved to try and investigate more. She looked over at Evy who just shook her head. They continued on, when there was _another_ thump to the left. They only took a few more steps, when a large metallic leg landed right in front of them, forcing them to jump backwards.

A bright light glared down at them, nearly blinding them, Evy quickly covering LJ's eyes to protect him as a voice rang out, "This tree farm is private property. You are trespassing."

The leg opened up and three people in thick, yellow, metal armor ran out, their guns aimed at the women, Madge holding her arms up in surrender while Evy tried to hush LJ, who was starting to cry, he was just a baby after all.

One of the soldiers ran forward, scanning them quickly before rushing back to the others, lifting his visor as he reported, "Unarmed sir."

"What the hell are you doing here?" the middle man, clearly the captain shouted.

"No wait! Armed! No…unarmed…" the captain lifted his visor to stare at him, "Sorry sir, the one's wearing wool sir, the natural fabrics...they interfere with the…"

"Please say we can tell the difference between _wool_ and _sidearms_."

"We can tell the difference sir…"

"Can we?"

"Not always sir, no," he shook his head as the third person, a woman, opened her visor.

"What are you doing here?" the captain turned back to them, "And do you understand what is about to happen in this forest?"

"We were just…" Madge began as Evy eyed them cautiously.

"Sir, I think they're time travelers," the woman reported, having scanned them as well.

"And we're sure it's not her cardigan?" the captain asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, who _are_ you?" Madge shouted, growing frantic before she started to cry, "It was _Christmas_ …"

~8~

"It's just irresponsible," Lily continued to berate the Doctor as they rushed on, "How can you do this to my brother?!"

"It was meant to be a supervised trip!"

"What, to the future?"

"The future yes."

"The future on a different planet?"

"Oh yes, very different."

"Where Christmas trees just happen?"

"Well, sort of Christmas trees, they're not _really_ Christmas trees…" they ran out through a set of trees to see a large tower with a glass sphere at the top of it. The Doctor let out a whistle, looking up at it, "Oh, look at that!"

' _Are you seeing this?_ ' he called excitedly, sending Evy a mental image.

' _Not quite,_ ' she replied, sending him an image of the trio of armed soldiers currently aiming guns at her and LJ. He froze, his hearts stopping a moment, ' _Oh we're fine!_ ' she reassured him with a laugh, not at all worried, ' _From what I can tell, they're idiots, the lot of them._ '

That didn't particularly make him feel better, idiots tended to do, well, very stupid things, ' _You're sure?_ '

' _They don't even know the difference between wool and sidearms,_ ' she laughed, ' _We'll be fine, I can talk my way out of anything you know._ '

He let out a little breath, she certainly could. He couldn't count the number of arguments she'd won against him as well as the times she actually managed to talk circles round him! _Him_ , of all people! And...he knew Evy would _never_ risk LJ, not at all, _ever_. If anything, she'd gotten even more protective, more resilient, more determined to survive than ever before, he had too though, because now, they both had something else to live for, their son. At first, if they had to die, it would be together, but not now, no, now they would fight to live, for their child. He knew she wasn't in true danger, not right now, he could sense it, he trusted her to tell him if she was ever in a situation that she couldn't handle. He was worried for her, of course he was, he always was when they were spearated and facing something, but if she thought those three posed any sort of threat to LJ, even on the tiniest scale...well...he wouldn't want to be them. Evy could be mad scary when she wanted to be, all on her own, but now, to add _motherhood_ to the equation...there was nothing more terrifying than a mother-Time Lady protecting her child. Though...the same could be said for him as well, he wouldn't _ever_ let _anything_ happen to LJ, or to Evy, _not ever_.

He shook his head and headed for the tower, focusing on that so as not to distract Evy while she dealt with them, he needed to find Cyril.

"What are we going in?" Lily asked, following him.

"Well Cyril did!" he reasoned, pushing the door open for them to enter, "Interesting…" he looked around at the structure, pausing when he saw the wooden king sitting before them, footsteps leading up to it.

"What's that? That statue, what is it? It's like a king."

"A king possibly," he moved his light on it a moment before pointing it to the ground, "But not a statue," the prints led right to it, "Oh, look at the floor…this is what Cyril was following, the growing thing. Hatched from the bauble on a tree, grew to this size in…" he checked his watch, "Less than an hour I'd say," he whistled, "Impressive. And so is this building…" he walked over to the walls, checking on them, "Yes, grown see? This building, it isn't a building, it's a group of trees grown in the _shape_ of a building. Disguised as a building. Oh…clever. I love clever. Clever old forest…" he looked up a moment, "So a forest grows a building, why would it do that Lily?"

"I don't know."

"Why is there honey in a honey trap."

"Because it's a trap?"

"Exactly. Thing about people, we can never resist a door…"

"So this is a trap? We've just walked straight into _a trap_?"

"A people trap. Question is…why does a forest need people?" he eyed the statue.

"We should go. We have to get out of here."

"Except…" he held up a finger, stopping her from leaving.

"Except Cyril's here."

He reached back and took her hand, "So let's find Cyril…"

~8~

Madge was still crying while Evy bobbed LJ, who had calmed significantly from the surprise of seeing three people with guns aiming at them and taken to observing the situation. He knew his mummy, she'd protect him, and if she wasn't worried, then there was nothing to worry about. After spending centuries learning from his father, his mother must have the best 'danger radar' around.

"Ma'am, please stop crying," the captain asked, "I can't interrogate you while your crying. This is a military engagement, there's no crying in military engagements…" and then the first man started to cry as well, "Corporal Ven-Garr are you…"

"I'm fine sir," Ven-Garr shook his head.

"What is _wrong_ with you?"

"I have mother issues sir. It's all on file, it won't affect the performance of my duties."

_They're funny,_ LJ gurgled.

' _Yes,_ ' she projected to him, not willing to speak around the trio just yet, ' _Yes they are._ '

"Um sir, with regret I'm going to have to lower my gun," the woman remarked.

' _I rather like her though,_ ' she commented.

"Why?" the captain turned to her.

"She is a crying, unarmed, female civilian," she indicated to Madge as she wiped her eyes before gesturing at Evy, "And _she_ is an unarmed, female civilian, with a _baby_! I'm thinking of the visual."

"Nobody's looking."

"Doesn't mean there's no visual."

"That's exactly what nobody's looking means. It means there's no visual!"

Ven-Garr sobbed again but quickly sobered, "I'm sorry sir. It's under control," he lifted his gun, "Do you want me to shoot them sir?"

Madge screamed and held up her hands while Evy took a step back, clutching LJ closer.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my Flesh and Stone chapter I ended with a note that, after watching Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, someone would want a dinosaur. Can you guess who it is? And speaking of DOAS, I think I can safely give you guys a 'sneak peek' to the beginning of the Lunar Cycle for Series 7 now. Here we go...
> 
> Asylum of the Daleks - There's definitely some tensions between Amy and Evy regarding motherhood. Will it be resolved?  
> Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - We get some father-son bonding time. What will happen when the Doctor is left alone with his son?  
> A Town Called Mercy - Evy has come up with a new method of punishment for her son's potty mouth. What is it?  
> The Power of Three - LJ says his first word! What will it be?  
> The Angels Take Manhattan - River's not the only one in NY, of course she'd take her Quantum Physics/Time Lord best friend to investigate time distortions. What will happen?
> 
> Next chapter...now that there are two mothers about, which one will the forest choose as a pilot? LJ is certainly the Doctor's son. LJ is kidnapped(!), but by who?


	24. The Time Lords, the Widow, and the Wardrobe (Part 2)

"This visual's deteriorating sir!" the armed woman shouted.

"Shut up!" the captain called but the woman just put her gun down, "What are you _doing_?"

"I am respecting them as women sir."

"Ok," he sighed, "We're putting our guns on the ground," they did so, "Ok? Happy now? We're stepping away from our guns," and did that as well, "Now can we interrogate you?" Madge nodded a bit, "We're from Androzani Major. The year is 5345 and we mean you no harm. Where are you from?"

"England," Madge answered, "1941," and then pulled out a revolver, "And there's a war on. Oh," she smiled, "Crying's ever so useful isn't it?"

"If you say so, but there's nothing you could say that would convince me you'd ever use that gun."

"Oh really? Well I'm looking for my _children_."

The man's eyes widened and he and the other man lunged for their guns. But Evy was faster. She grabbed her sonic from its holster and flashed the guns, disabling them with a spark before holding the device up to them. Not knowing how non-lethal the screwdriver was, the two men quickly stepped back with their hands up, eyeing the two women in fear while LJ giggled at the funny noise the screwdriver made.

~8~

"Cyril!" the Doctor shouted as he and Lily made their way to the top of the stairs that had lined the tower, stopping at a shut door. He pulled out the sonic and tried to open the lock, "Cyril! Can you hear me? Cyril? Cyril? Cyril? Can you hear me?" he looked at the sonic a moment, then the door, realizing, "Oh, _of course_ , it's _wood_!" he turned to Lily, "It's rubbish at wood."

"It doesn't look like wood," she eyed the door.

"It's _disguised_ wood. Have you been listening?" he tried the sonic again.

"How can trees grow into a building?"

"Oh never underestimate a tree Lily," he walked past her, trying to get the sonic working again, "I met the Forest of Cheem once who fancied me."

"Look at that…" Lily breathed, catching sight of something out the window.

"Busy actually," he twisted the sonic, "Yes, I know, it's wood, get over it!"

"There are stars. There are stars coming out."

"Yes, that _does_ happen Lily," he walked back to the door, "Cyril!"

"Yes, but out of the trees," she looked at him. He glanced at her, then the door, and made his way over to her to look out the window with her. There, hovering above the trees, were tiny stars, "What is that?"

"Life force. Pure life force. Just…singing."

"Beautiful. Doesn't it make you want to cry?"

"Crying when you're happy. Good for you," he put his hands on her shoulder, hoping that wherever Evy and LJ were in the forest, they were seeing this too, "That's so human."

There was a sudden whoosh and a golden light appeared behind the door, "What's that? What is it?" Lily shouted as they ran over, "Tell me what!"

"Cyril!" he banged on the door, "Cyril can you hear me?" and then they heard thumping that sounded like footsteps at the bottom of the tower and slowly turned.

"Oh my God," Lily breathed as she crept forward to see the king had stood up and walked towards the stairs, "Oh my God…"

~8~

Madge stood in the walking machine that had nearly crushed them, aiming her gun at the woman as she tied the two men to the machine. Evy walked around behind her, LJ making excited noises as she showed him all the different technologies that powered and controlled the transportation unit.

"What is all this?" Madge asked, "Is this some sort of cockpit? My husband's a pilot."

"It drives the platform," the woman replied, turning to her.

"I don't understand. How did we get here?"

"You tell us ma'am."

"A dimensional portal for a Christmas present," Evy remarked.

Madge shook her head, assuming, much like her daughter did with Cyril, that the woman was making up words to confuse the others, "I'm looking for my children."

"There's nobody else in this forest, there _can't_ be," Ven-Garr told her.

"Well _they_ found a way in maybe the kids did too," the woman shrugged.

"Then God help them," the captain muttered.

"Why do you say that?" Madge turned to him.

"We can do a scan for life forms," the woman assured her, "We can detect people even though they're far away."

"Like RDF radar?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then, please stop patronizing me and get on with it!"

"Yes ma'am," the woman rushed over to the computers.

"Why did you say God help my children?" Madge turned back to the captain.

"Because the forest is about to be harvested," Evy replied.

Madge turned to see her looking at one of the monitors with scores of data flying across the screen, "Harvested?"

She nodded, pointing to something on the monitor as though it were obvious, "Androzani Trees are the greatest fuel source in this galactic quadrant. The entire area is on schedule to be melted down for factory fluids."

"Melted down? How do you melt a _forest_?"

"With acid rain," she explained, taping another command to show her an image of the planet with dots around it, "There are satellites already in position above us," she swallowed hard, "Anyone still out there in five minutes is going to burn."

~8~

The Doctor winced as Evy informed him of the time constraint now put on him, far worse than the wooden king steadily drawing nearer to them as he tried desperately to open the _wooden_ door with the _sonic_.

"Caretaker it's coming!" Lily shouted, "Open it!"

"I'm trying!" he told her.

"Open it!"

"I'm trying!" the door suddenly swung open, "That wasn't me…"

"That doesn't matter!" Lily pushed past him and into the room, the Doctor behind her, to see her brother sitting on a large throne-like chair, his eyes closed, a metal band around his head, while a wooden queen stood behind him. She quickly got to her knees before her brother, checking on him, "Cyril! What's wrong with him? Caretaker...is he dead?"

He reached out and checked him over, "It's ok, he's just unconscious," before he stood to face the queen, "What are you then? Not a king…queen! The Queen Bee of the forest."

Lily glanced over her shoulder at him when she saw the stars through the window, seeming closer, "Caretaker look…"

"It looks like…" he trailed off as they walked to the window.

"Like what?"

"Like the life force is leaving the forest…" he replied as the stars drifted closer. He spun around at the sound of thumps to see the king had reached them and was heading for Cyril.

"What is he doing? Stop him!"

He pulled out the sonic and tried to flash the statues, "Oh, aliens made of wood!" he glared at the sonic, "This is always going to happen you know!" and tried again, "Um…" he paused, eyeing the statues as they made no hostile move, "It's ok…I think they just want to talk to us."

The statues looked at Cyril, who blinked awake, as the band glowed, "They're scared," he said as Lily knelt before him again, "Can't you hear them? The trees are screaming, can't you hear?"

"No," he scanned the band around Cyril's head, "But _you_ can. You're connected to them."

~8~

"Ok," the woman called, running the program as Evy and Madge walked over, "Picking up life signs about half a mile away."

"Can we go to them?" Madge asked, "Can we move this thing?"

"Not trained ma'am, those two are."

"I can't trust them."

"I can't drive the platform ma'am."

Madge looked around, eyeing the equipment, "It looks a little like a plane. My husband flies a plane, he took me up once."

"It's nothing like a plane," Evy told her sadly.

"It takes _years_ of training," the woman agreed, "Scanning for an audio connection…we might be able to hear them."

"Acid rain alert," one of the computers alerted them, "Five minute warning. Prepare for beam out."

The woman quickly got up and made her way towards the men, "I'm so sorry, you have to find a way out."

"Evacuate," was repeated.

"Acid fall is coming, you won't last two minutes!"

"Don't go!" Madge shouted as they disappeared in a flash of light, "No please, wait, no! What am I to do? I…" but they were gone, "Where have you gone?!"

"Acid fall in 5 minutes. Unauthorized personnel will be incinerated."

"Up to their control ship," Evy told her, looking at a scanner that controlled the end destination of the beam out, "To await the rain."

"Why have the stars left the trees?" they heard Lily speak and looked up at a speaker in the wall.

"I think they're…" Cyril began.

"Just concentrate," the Doctor encouraged, "What are they doing?"

~8~

"…evacuating," Cyril said, looking up at the Doctor as he knelt before him, Lily behind him, "They're evacuating."

"Why?"

"'Cos they're frightened of the rain. The rain that burns."

The Doctor closed his eyes, he was _so_ hoping for a different answer.

~8~

Madge reached out and put a hand on the speaker, listening to her daughter, "Caretaker please explain. I'm frightened."

"Those stars…" he began.

~8~

The Doctor ran to the window, looking out, "They're pure life force. Souls, if you like. And they're trying to escape because they think their home is going to burn."

"Why can't they just float up into the sky?"

"They need to travel inside a living thing. Inside Cyril. See this," he ran back and scanned the band once more, "It's not a crown. It's a relay. They're turning your brother into a life boat. _That's_ what this place is for then. It's an escape plan, is that it?" he turned around in time to see the queen lean forward towards Cyril, "Don't you harm him! Do not touch that child!"

As she touched his shoulder, the band glowed, and Cyril spoke in a much deeper, distorted voice, "Your coming was foretold."

"Oh my God, what _is_ that?" Lily gasped, "Why does he sound like that?"

"Oh hello, are we lip-syncing now?" he stepped closer.

"We had faith," the queen told him, "Your coming was foretold."

"There's no such thing as foretelling. Trust a time traveler."

"We waited. And you came."

"So! You've got an escape plan, why aren't you escaping?"

"The child is weak."

"You mean he's a child."

"No! He is weak! The forest cannot live in him. But there are others."

"There certainly are and the good thing is, I look great in a hat. So…" he knelt before Cyril, "Let's get this thing off eh?"

"You are also weak."

He just reached for the band, "I'm really not. Let's save a forest eh, Cyril?"

"You are not the one. You are _weak_."

"I'm really not!" he lifted the band and fell backwards as it burned him. He cried out in pain, the band blazing, forcing him to his knees.

~8~

Evy bit her lip, grabbing the back of one of the chairs as she nearly fell to her knees as well, her other arm tightening around LJ as she stumbled. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep Madge, whose back was to her, from turning around.

~8~

"Let go of it!" Lily shouted, "Just let go! Let go! Please, just drop it!"

"I can't!" he ground out.

So Lily strode forward and grabbed it from him. The glow receded as the Doctor panted, "Oh…it's funny isn't it…it's sort of…tingly…"

"Tingly?!" he looked up at her, disbelieving.

The queen reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, "She is strong, but she is young."

Lily jumped away, dropping the band, which clattered to the floor, as the Doctor stood, "She's strong, I'm weak? Interesting…"

"Mummy?" Cyril blinked, looking around, the connection to the band now broken.

Lily stepped cautiously around the statue and crouched before her brother, "Cyril it's alright. It's me. Mummy isn't here but we're going home to her right now, aren't we Caretaker?"

The Doctor looked up, hearing the rain begin, "No…I don't think we are. The rain that burns…acid rain…"

~8~

Madge fell against the wall, crumpling down it in tears, as she listened to the rain and her children, "We have to get out of this forest," the Doctor was saying, "We're in terrible danger. This tower won't protect us for long."

"Where's mummy?" Cyril asked.

"She's coming," Lily promised him, "You know she's coming because she always comes. Doesn't she?"

Madge could only shake her head, how could she get to them now?

"Madge," Evy stiffly made her way over to her, "I can get us both there, but you must do something for me."

Madge looked up at her, hopeful, "What?"

She smiled, handing her LJ, "Hold him," Madge took the baby and Evy stood, walking over to the main pilot's seat where she plopped down and started up the programs. She shouldn't have taken this long to get back to the Doctor, clearly, he _still_ was incapable of taking care of himself.

' _Oi!_ ' she heard him shout in her head.

' _Metal band,_ ' she reminded him, ' _Not a minute ago._ '

And he quieted, letting her get back to work, making the platform move.

~8~

"Cyril," the Doctor walked over to the boy, having been looking out the window for Evy, knowing she was bringing both her and Madge wherever they were, "The way we came here, that door won't stay open forever. Now I'm not even sure if I can get us through the forest safely but, if we're gonna have any chance at all, we have to go now."

Cyril just crossed his arms, "No. We wait for mummy. Mummy always comes."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say that his mummy would meet them there, when the ground shook. He turned around to see some sort of device with three legs making its way through the forest, the light on the top of it just above the trees.

"What's that?" Lily ran to the window.

"It's an Androzani Harvester!"

"Do you recognize that thing?"

He just shook his head, watching as its smoothly grew closer, "More to the point…I most certainly recognize the driver!" he beamed, seeing Evy sitting in the pilot's seat, making the device move, Madge behind her, holding onto the back of the chair with one hand, holding LJ in the other as the boy curiously tugged on the end of the woman's curly hair, "Evy and Madge have entered the forest! Come on Evy! You can do it! You go girl!"

"Oh shut up!" Evy called with a laugh.

But he just cheered her on, "Come on! This way! You can do it! You can do it! Excellent driving!"

Evy brought the harvester right up close, "Meet you down there!" she shouted to them as she and Madge ran to the back of the device, entering a sort of lift.

"Right, yes, stay here!" he called to the kids, running out of the room, "Just stay here!" he took the stairs two at a time as he ran down them, "Evy! LJ! Madge!" he yelled, seeing them run in from the rain, their jackets smoking, with holes forming in them, "You ok?" he asked, rushing over.

Madge threw her hood back, "Stay inside, the rain is _frightful_! Lily! Cyril!" and ran up the stairs.

"And you?" he looked at Evy. She'd managed to grab a piece of scrap metal to use as a shield to the rain, but the back of her coat had been singed a bit.

"I'm fine," she reassured him, "We both are," before pulling the small blanket she'd bundled LJ in off him, perfectly safe and whole…and grumbling about how he'd missed seeing the rain in action, "Your son," she panted, "Completely yours," he moved to the door but she pulled him back, kissing him, "Already scanned it," she told him, "The Harvester won't make it through the rain to the portal."

He nodded about to speak when they heard Lily shout from upstairs, "Mum!"

They ran up the stairs, bursting into the room to see the queen advancing on Madge as she held her arms out, keeping her children back. But as soon as they set foot in the room, the queen froze and turned around. It looked at Evy a moment, before starting to walk towards her.

"Doctor…" she began, eyeing the approaching statue.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted, aiming the sonic threateningly, though knowing it would do little.

Evy frowned as she tried to read the statue's mind, knowing it could't speak without a host to speak for it. She concentrated, hearing, ' _She is strong._ _She can hold the forest, she can hold the life of the forest…_ '

Her eye widened as she put together the pieces, "Of course…" she breathed, "Doctor," she turned to him, passing him LJ.

He quickly grabbed her arm as she took a step towards the queen, "Are you sure?" he asked her, seeing her plan.

"You plugged your mind into a planet," she reminded him, "I'm certain I can handle a forest."

He looked at her, not wanting her to do this, but he could see, if it got to be too much, whatever the forest was planning, she trusted that he'd be able to free her. He nodded, giving her a quick kiss, "Be careful."

She smiled, patting his cheek, "Of course I will. I'm not you, you know."

"Oi!" he mock cried, laughing just a little.

She gave him one more smile and stepped away from him, bowing her head as the queen crowned her with the band. She gasped, stumbling a bit, falling onto the throne for support before sitting in it entirely. The queen moved to her place beside the throne along with the king as the stars outside began to spiral forward, passing through the glass triangles around them and into Evy's head.

"What's happening?" Madge cried, alarmed.

"The stars are going inside her!" Lily's eyes widened, "She's taking the whole forest!"

The Doctor watched her carefully, waiting till the entirety of the forest had entered her before rushing to kneel before her, "Evy? Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

I'm fine," she told him, blinking as she got used to the sensation of the forest in her head…it was quite similar to the feeling of having their people, their connection to their people, in the back of her mind, but startling still, after all this time with just the Doctor, and now LJ, there.

"Fine?" he asked her, seriously, "You're sure?"

"It's nothing new. Almost like home."

He blinked, understanding, their minds could take in far more than just a simple forest. But still…why had _she_ been able to do it? He looked at the queen, "She's ok?"

The queen moved to speak through Ev,y but she beat her to it, "I'm strong."

"She's strong?" the Doctor frowned, his mind just on the verge of figuring it out.

LJ shifted in his arms, reaching for her, worried, _Mummy!_

His eyes widened, "Oh. Oh! Stupid me. Stupid old Doctor! Do you get it Cyril?"

"No…" Cyril frowned.

"Lily you do, don't you?"

"No."

"Madge?" he looked at her, "You've got to get it!" but Madge could only shake her head and pull her children closer, "Course you do. Think about it. Weak and strong. It's a _translation_. Translated from the base code of nature itself. You and I, Cyril, we're weak but she's _female_!" he pointed at Evy, "More than female, she's _mum_! How else does life ever travel? The mother ship!" the room suddenly started to shake as the sphere flew into the air.

"What's happening?" Madge shouted, clutching her children tighter.

"No idea. Do what I do, hold on tight and pretend it's a plan!" he crouched down beside Evy's throne, keeping LJ close, while Madge and her children braced themselves against the bottom of the window's wall. He looked up, watching as the sphere flew right into the Time Vortex, "This is amazing…" he breathed, shifting so LJ could see, "Do you see LJ?"

"Where are we?" Cyril moved to his knees to look out the window.

"Technically we're not anywhere…we've flown into the Time Vortex!" he looked at the queen, "You got what you wanted. Those idiots down there can burn your old home and you'll be safe up here but this is _my Link_. She helped you, now help her. How do we get everyone home?"

The queen leaned forward and touched Evy's shoulder, "Think."

"Sorry what?" he asked, frowning, very uncomfortable with the entity speaking through his Link. LJ even more so with hearing a voice that was not his mother's coming from her.

"She must only think."

Evy blinked, frowning as the queen stepped back.

"Evy did you hear that?" he moved before her more.

She nodded, "I've got to think."

He nodded, "Can you do that?" she nodded, "Your mind is controlling this vessel. You can fly us all back for Christmas."

"Home?" Cyril asked.

" _Your_ home," the Doctor corrected, "We don't have a home to think of, but she can get YOU home," he turned to her, scanning the band, "But you're _really_ going to need to feel it," he warned her. The vessel operated psychically, it would take an immense amount of emotion and drive to get them there, "Can you do it?"

She nodded, grabbing the arms of the throne as a force appeared around the vessel, propelling them through the Vortex.

"What's happening?" Madge shouted, feeling them accelerate.

"Where're we going?" Lily called.

"Show them!" the Doctor turned to the statues as they raised their hands, "Show them!" the windows cleared to reveal the Vortex. The family looked back, their eyes wide as they moved back to see it in its entirety, "Ha! The Time Vortex! Evy is flying a forest through the Time Vortex," he looked at LJ, "You're mum's flying a forest through the Time Vortex, be a little impressed!" he looked over at the window, seeing the force flicker, and then to Evy, seeing the strain on her face, "Evy concentrate!" he told her, "Focus. You can _do_ this!"

"I know I can," she nodded, "I am _strong_ ," she repeated the queen's words.

The Doctor grinned, sensing something about to happen, and kissed LJ's head, "Watch this boyo," he whispered.

"I've experienced destruction," she murmured, the Doctor's eyes widening as an image of their planet appeared in the window, "And salvation," and then there were Ianto and Jack, both standing by her as she lay on the examination bed of Torchwood, "I've experienced fear and loss," he clutched LJ tighter as the Daleks rolled past, the image bleeding into the Master's deaths, "Love and joy," she laughed a bit, an image of her turning on her chair, smiling as she met the Doctor and Martha Jones, shaking his hand, along with her laughing and crying as a sweaty mess, holding a newly born and screaming LJ in her arms, the Doctor beside her, smiling, in tears, "I've visited the most amazing planet," the image shifted to Earth, "And met the most incredible people," to their companions and their families, "And I will do this for them," and then Madge and her children.

_Mummy makes epic speeches too!_ LJ waved his arms, trying to clap but just missing it.

"Not often," the Doctor told him, "But when she does…watch out!"

They watched as the image shifted from Madge and the children to the Christmas tree, to the manor…and then…the image darkened, clouds appearing as a plane flew into view.

Madge's eyes widened, "No, no please don't show me that!" she begged, "Please don't show me that!"

"Is that daddy's plane?" Cyril asked.

"Please...I don't want to see that!" she turned to Evy, in tears, " _Please_."

"Madge we can't break the signal now," the Doctor warned her, "We can't break it now, I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "But not the night he died. I don't want to _see_ him die!"

"What do you mean?" Lily gasped, "The night he died?"

"Please Evy don't make me watch him die!" Madge sobbed.

"Mummy…is daddy dead?" Cyril's lip quivered, "Mummy!"

The Doctor looked at Evy, watching her as the family watched their father speak to another man on the plane, "Are you sure?" he asked her quietly as the man disappeared and Mr. Arwell kissed a picture of Madge that he kept with him.

"It's an impossible stretch," Evy managed to get out.

He just grinned and kissed her head as Mr. Arwell's plane began to go down and a bright light filled the room...

~8~

The Doctor passed Evy LJ as he moved to check the Arwells, just starting to wake on the floor of the vessel, which had seen better days since it crash landed.

LJ squirmed excitedly in her arms, making her laugh at how animated he was being, _And then with the sonic and those men were so scared of you and you moved the metal thing and the forest…_

She shook her head, he hadn't stopped babbling about what she'd done since she'd woken up and had the Doctor checking on her.

"Cyril, Lily, everyone alright?" the Doctor checked on them as well, before scanning the statues.

"Are they dead?" Madge eyed them, starting to get up.

"No," he checked the sonic, "They're just wood now, they've been…emptied.

"The forest is gone from my head now too," Evy added, tugging LJ's hand away from her hair as he gripped it, tugging on it, trying to get her attention back, it seemed he wasn't done yet.

"And where is it now?" Madge frowned.

"The life force of the whole forest has transmuted itself into a sub-etheric waveband of light, which can exist as a…" the Doctor began when Evy cut in.

"Their souls, the spirit of the trees...they're out there, among the stars."

The Doctor shook his head, "And they're _shining_ , very happy, and..." he moved over to her side, helping her up, careful of LJ, " _You_ got them there," he looked at her, immensely proud, "Well done love."

She smiled.

"And where are we?" Madge stood.

"Home!" the Doctor cheered, "Christmas morning," he wiped the window to show them they were, in fact, parked on the manor's yard, "We've taken a bit of a shortcut, haven't you always wanted to do that?"

"Mother…" Lily called.

Madge turned to them, "Oh, look at you, you've been so brave you…" she moved to them, ready to hug them, but they stepped back, "Look we're home again see…Evy's gotten us home and…"

"What did you mean, 'watch him die?'" Lily breathed, "Where's father? Where is he? Where's daddy?" Madge looked down, pulling a telegram from her pocket, "Why are you holding a telegram? Well...what does it say?!"

"Please just tell us!" Cyril pouted.

"Tell us!"

"I imagine you'd prefer to be alone?" the Doctor called quietly.

Madge looked at him and Evy, in tears, "I don't believe _anyone_ would prefer _that_. Stay close Caretaker."

He nodded, "We'll be right outside," before they turned to leave.

"Lily…Cyril…" they heard Madge begin as they descended the steps.

~8~

… _and the stars!_ LJ continued, _They were all in your head and the ship and right into the Vortex!_

Evy shook her head, LJ was most certainly excited.

' _And rather proud of his mum,_ ' the Doctor added.

Evy blushed...when she spotted something, "Doctor…" she began.

He looked up, following her gaze, to see something that changed _everything_.

_BRILLIANT!_ LJ squealed.

Evy laughed as he began to squirm even more, "You'd best go get them," she told the Doctor, "I'll try and calm our son down."

"Good luck with that," he remarked, "He is MY son you know."

"Go!" Evy nudged him back up the stairs.

_You got_ that _back too!?_ LJ fussed, _My mum is so badass!_

"Language!" she shouted.

_But mum…_ he whined, dragging out the 'mum.'

~8~

"A few nights ago, your father, who, as you know," Madge was saying to her children, "Was the best of men and the bravest of pilots, was flying home for Christmas. His plane was badly damaged and his instruments failed him. Unfortunately he was flying on a night where there was no moon and, because it was very cloudy, there were no stars to…there were no stars to light his way."

"Did he get lost?" Cyril frowned.

"Yes Cyril, he got _so_ _very_ lost."

"Um, sorry to interrupt," the Doctor called as they looked at him, "But you might want to pop out here for a moment…"

"Caretaker, I'm talking to my children."

"I know, and before you go any further…I think you'd better come and look…" he quickly ran back down, leaving them to follow.

~8~

Doctor tweaked his bow-tie as the Arwells walked over, Evy holding a slightly more calm LJ, one who had been thoroughly scolded for his language, but still _very_ excited and quiet, as he didn't want to miss what was about to happen.

"No stars to light the way Madge?" the Doctor asked her, "There was one. There was Evy…" he laughed, looking at the plane, the same one they had seen flying through the night, that had followed them through the Vortex, sitting on the lawn before them, "What should have been impossible…taking a whole forest into the Vortex! She did one more. That's my Link!"

Mr. Arwell walked out of the plane, spotting them, very confused, "Madge! What am I doing here?"

"It's Christmas Day my love, where else would you be?" she laughed, throwing her arms out.

"Christmas Day? How?"

"We took a shortcut!" she shouted, running to him.

"Daddy!" her children followed.

The Doctor and Evy stood, watching with smiles on their faces, LJ cuddling contentedly in his mother's arms.

"Happy crying," the Doctor sighed happily, "Humany-wumany."

_Best Christmas ever!_ LJ cheered.

"Oh just you wait till the next one with your father around," Evy warned him.

The Doctor just gave her a kiss as they headed back to the manor to get things ready for Mr. Arwell's return.

~8~

The Doctor stood in the doorway to a sitting room, watching as the Arwells pieced together a puzzle that night, Mr. Arwell with his arm around his wife, dropping a kiss onto her head. He smiled, walking back up the stairs to the attic, his work here was done.

He opened the door and stepped through, only to stop short, his mouth dropping open at the sight. The entire room had been converted and fixed up. The warm glow of Christmas lights surrounded him, tied along the walls with streamers and decorations. There were ribbons and garlands and bows, a sprig of mistletoe above the door. The TARDIS stood there with a wreath on the door, a small tree in the corner of the room with a small spattering of presents, stocking hung up, hot cocoa and a tray of cookies set out. Overall, it was an entire room that screamed warmth, love, and Christmas.

"What…" he breathed as Evy opened the door to the TARDIS and stepped out with LJ, the poor boy now dressed up in a small Father Christmas-themed outfit, his own little Santa hat on his head.

"Do you like it?" Evy smiled, walking over to him, giving him a kiss beneath the sprig of mistletoe.

"How?" he shook his head.

"I do the impossible regularly Theta," she reminded him, "This shouldn't be much of a surprise you," she grinned, "Merry Christmas."

He smiled at her, shaking his head, "Merry Christmas," he said, giving her a kiss.

"Now, come on," she took his hand, pulling him to the tree, "Our son is rather eager to open his gifts."

"Just like his mother then," he remarked, tapping her nose playfully.

"Exactly," she laughed, handing him a gift to open for their son.

~8~

Madge entered the attic room, blinking at all the changes that had been made, however, what _really_ caught her attention was the blue phone box right in the middle of the room. Her eyes widened as the Doctor stepped out of it, "Ah..." he caught sight of her.

She pointed at him, "Of course, it's you isn't it? My spaceman angel with his head on backwards."

"How do I look the right way around?" he spun around, showing off.

"Funnier."

"Ok."

"Better funny than an idiot," Evy remarked, stepping out of the TARDIS alone, having left LJ in his bouncy seat with the TARDIS singing Christmas carols in other languages to entertain him for a moment. She ruffled his hair a moment but he just resorted to tickling her side in retaliation till she swatted his hands away.

Madge smiled, watching them fondly, "You came back," she couldn't help but say.

"We had to help," Evy told her as the Doctor wound his arms around her waist, holding her back to his front, resting his chin on the top of her head, loving how she was short enough to do so, "You helped my love, so I helped yours."

Madge sniffled, tears in her eyes, "Thank you," she stepped forward to hug the woman, giving the Doctor a hug as well, "Now, the last time I saw you," she looked at him, pulling away, "I went back the next day but the phone box had gone."

"Yeah, you want to see how it's done?" he ran to the box

"No!" Madge shouted, stopping him, "I want you three to stay for Christmas. Please."

"Ah, well, you see…things to do, people to see…"

"Of course, yes," she smiled at Evy, "Family of your own."

"We've actually already celebrated Christmas," Evy told her, "We were just about to see the rest of our family though."

Madge nodded, "Right, well then, off you go! Mustn't keep them waiting!"

The Doctor grinned and pointed, "Now eyes on the box!"

Madge watched them head for the box once more, when a thought struck her, "Oh, Caretaker!" he turned to look at her, "What if I require you again?"

He grinned, "Make a wish."

Evy rolled her eyes at that, "Here," she tossed Madge a small device that looked like a little recorder, much like the ones she'd given Sarah Jane and Jo after the Shansheeth incident, "Call us if you need us," she told the woman, who nodded.

"Merry Christmas Madge Arwell," the Doctor wished her, holding the door open for Evy to enter before following behind.

A moment later, Madge stepped back, watching as the box disappeared right in front of her with a wheeze.

"What the hell was that?" she looked back to see her husband had entered.

"That was just the Caretaker and Evy returning to the Time Vortex," she replied, "It's a lovely place," she headed out of the room, "I've been there myself. Shall we go downstairs?"

He paused a moment, thinking, before shaking his head and following his wife.

~8~

The Doctor knocked on a TARDIS blue door with a wreath on it, "If that is more carol singers," he heard Amy shout as he knocked again, "I have a water pistol! You don't want to be all wet on a night like…" she opened the door, aiming the water pistol, only to see the Doctor standing there, "This…"

"Not absolutely sure…" he paused, "Forgot to ask Evy but…how long…"

"Two years," she mock glared, before squirting him with the water gun.

"Ok…" he wiped his face, "Fair point,"

They'd tried to visit all their companions relative to the last time they'd seen them…managed to get it within a year with the others. But Amy was their last stop, being the most recent companion, so they were understandably tired…

"Well?" Amy eyed him after a moment, "I'm not gonna hug first."

"Nor am I," he agreed. They both proceeded to stand there, looking away, resisting…before they caught each other's eye and hugged at the same time, laughing, smiling.

"So where's Evy?" Amy asked, pulling away, "And where is my handsome nephew?"

"Coming!" Evy shouted as the Doctor moved to open his mouth. Evy had been setting the TARDIS to remain parked when he'd gone to go say hello first.

"Evy!" Amy squealed, seeing her walk up with LJ in her arms. She reached out and hugged her tightly.

"Oi!" the Doctor called, "Why does _she_ get a hug and _I_ had to wait?"

"Because _she's_ got _the_ _baby_!" Amy cooed, taking LJ from Evy and cuddling the boy, who then grabbed a hold of her hair and began tugging on it, excited to study the color, much to his parents' amusement, "And _she_ picks up the phone once in a while!" Amy added, trying to tug her hair away.

The Doctor pouted and Evy gave him a kiss, "Next year you can hold the baby," she compromised.

"Mr. Pond!" Amy turned and shouted into the house, "Guess who's coming for dinner!"

Rory stepped out of another door, down the hall, and smiled, "Oh!" he grinned, moving to hug Evy but stopped, "Permission?" he asked the Doctor jokingly.

"Granted," he laughed and Rory hugged Evy tightly before turning to give the Doctor a handshake.

"We're about to have Christmas dinner," Amy told them, "Joining us?"

"Well since you've kidnapped our son…" the Doctor remarked.

"If it's no trouble," Evy added, more politely.

"There's a place set for you," Rory told them.

"But you didn't know we were coming, why would you set us a plate?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh because we always do," Amy rolled her eyes, "It's _Christmas_ you moron," and she turned and walked into the house.

"Come on," Rory nodded them in, heading off after his wife.

"Doctor," Evy said softly as he took a step in, "I'm sorry."

He frowned, stepping back out of the threshold, "For what?"

"I didn't get you a gift," she told him.

They had mostly gotten LJ presents, wanting his first Christmas to be memorable, since he would be able to remember it, but the Doctor had surprised her with a new medallion. Well, new to _her_ , apparently he'd had it since before the Minotaur debacle but had only given it to her now. She fingered it a moment, it was a circle with intricate designs and lines, with three circles, one at the top and two below it on the left and right forming a sort of triangle, the Gallifreyan symbol for 'Time Lord.'

He smiled softly at her, "You've given me a _son_ ," he whispered, cupping her cheek, "You've given me a _family_ again. That's more than I have ever hoped for. Truly the best gift in the Universe."

She smiled, reaching up to run her thumb under his eye, wiping the tear that had just barely fallen, "Happy crying?"

"Very happy."

"I love you," she told him.

"I love you too," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her gently.

"Oi!" Rory called, peeking his head into the hallway to see what was taking them, "Come on!" he laughed as they blushed and entered the house, "Amy wants to take photos!"

The Doctor laughed and turned, closing the door as Evy smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The necklace, it's based on a Gallifreyan symbol I saw on google, I don't think its meaning is specifically given, but people think it represents Time Lord, so I went with that :) I think it's the first image if you search 'Gallifreyan symbol for Time Lord' under google images.
> 
> The next chapter will be First/Last night, featuring River Song. There was a line in it about how Amy and Rory were sleeping, so I'm assuming, in this story (as opposed to the Academic Series), that it happens after they meet again for Christmas, sort of a holiday trip, which is why it will be the official last chapter.
> 
> Next chapter...River and baby LJ, cuteness abounds.


	25. First Night and Last Night

The Doctor danced around the TARDIS console as Evy stood at one end, hitting a few buttons here and there, as she held LJ in her arms, balancing him on her hip.

~8~

River Song looked up from reading her journal as she sat in her cell in Stormcage, the sound of rain outside fading as she heard the wheezing of the TARDIS grow louder. She smiled, getting up…

~8~

The Doctor pulled a lever, setting the TARDIS to land and, not a moment later, River Song walked through the doors. She smiled widely, seeing the three of them there, but then her gaze was pulled away to a metallic-golden dress, quite low-cut, hanging on a hanger beside the console, "The dress is a little daring…" she remarked.

"Yup, so I went for this instead," the Doctor gestured to his suit and white jacket.

River looked at Evy for an explanation, "For some reason unknown to me I thought it would be fun to let our boys pick," she sighed, "Probably _not_ the best idea," she looked at her own gown, a very slinky, black dress that looked like a bikini top with a strip of fabric connecting it to the skirt that had a slit running up the side of it to a little above her left knee. The Doctor hadn't been able to stop his hands from ghosting over the skin on the sides of her stomach, much to his delight, as he'd discovered she was quite ticklish in that particular area. She shook her head, "And LJ…" she bobbed the baby, who was waving his arms excitedly at River, "I believe he picked yours because it was shiny," she nodded in though, "Yes, those _exact_ words."

River shook her head and walked up, dropping a little kiss onto LJ's head, as she smiled at the Doctor and Evy, "Are we going out?"

"Your parents are asleep," the Doctor turned to the controls. After seeing the Ponds again for Christmas and taking them along for a Christmas gift adventure, he and Evy had thought that they should visit River, see how she was holding up, "How's Stormcage?"

"I'm on the first night of 12,000 consecutive life sentences. Kind of early to say. Where are we going?"

"Calderon Beta" Evy smiled, "According to him," she nodded at the Doctor, "It's the 'Boring Planet of the Chip Shops,' but," she nodded, leading River around the console to where the Doctor was putting in coordinates, "In the middle of the sea there's a mountain that has a 400 foot tree growing out of a cliff top on its northern side. If you take the lift to the top of the tree on the 21st of September 2360, and look up at 12:12 in the morning you'll see more stars in one sky than at any other moment, in any other place, in all the Universe."

The Doctor pulled a lever, "It's like daylight, only magic. You could read a book by it."

"Or," Evy grinned, bobbing LJ on her hip, "Begin your lessons."

River frowned, "What lessons?"

"In Gallifreyan. You're part Time Lord after all, can't have you running around not knowing our language."

The Doctor nodded, "We may not be able to teach you everything about the Universe or other languages, but we can certainly teach you _that_."

Typically the language was an innate knowledge. Often the lessons of Gallifrey were passed down from parent to child while in the womb, it was why it was such a long gestation. The child had to basically absorb all manners of knowledge from their parents. What they knew, the child would know. It was a shared knowledge of their people, but with River not having Time Lord parents she was at a disadvantage. And, with the two knowing how River's time would end, they wanted to make sure she at least knew Gallifreyan given the fact she _would_ know it later, possibly even the language of the Gamma Forest, at least the basics of that.

River shook her head, "But you two and LJ have already started my lessons."

The Doctor blinked, "We have?"

She nodded, thinking about the times they popped in to see her at the university, with interesting books on poetry or history for her, the small talks they would have where Evy would smack the Doctor on the back of the head for saying something stupid and he'd lick her hand to get her to stop covering his mouth when he tried to say something stupid. She laughed a little, "You visited me at the university a few times to give me books and see how I was doing..." she frowned, realizing something, "...but not yet?"

"It's alright," Evy put a hand on the girl's shoulder, seeing she was worried that she'd let some important information about the future slip, "That's the sort of thing we _don't_ mind being an established event," she smiled, telling River it was ok, but also to be careful.

River smiled as well, "But either way, is it ok if we don't for now? I'd rather have my first real adventure really be an adventure, not a lesson."

Evy shook her head, "Just this once."

"We've got ten minutes, get dressed," the Doctor turned back to the console, "Did you bring the diary?"

"It's a diary?" River asked, holding up her journal and flipping through the pages.

"Oh yes," Evy readjusted LJ to her other side.

The Doctor nodded, "Listen, River from now on, there are rules…"

"Oh," she pouted, "You've gone all strict."

"River, the three of us, well, I suppose the four of us now, we never seem to meet in the right order," Evy warned her, "So we need you to put everything in the diary so when we do meet, we'll each know where we are."

"Put what in the diary? I'm in the highest security prison in all of the known Universe."

"River Song could walk in and out of that prison like the walls aren't there," the Doctor remarked, crossing his arms.

"I'm River Song."

"Then you'll be fine."

"You can find a different dress in the wardrobe if you'd like," Evy told her, "First right, second left, past the helter-skelter."

River nodded and headed off down the stairs.

The Doctor looked over at his family, smiling widely at them. He walked over and gave LJ a little kiss. Evy smiled, leaning forward to kiss him as well, when there was a thump against the doors of the TARDIS, followed by gun blasts. The Doctor ran to the doors, Evy quickly placing LJ on the jump seat before running to help. They pulled the doors open to see an older River trying to get in.

"River!" Evy called, pulling her in as the Doctor quickly shut the doors.

"I knew you'd come back here!" River gasped, "Hold me!" and promptly fainted in a spin, leaving the Doctor little choice but to catch her, Evy rushing to help him.

"River!" he called, alarmed, "River! River! River!" they quickly laid River down on the floor, "River?" the Doctor asked, tapping her on the cheeks, trying to wake her as Evy pulled her sonic from the back of her dress and flashed the woman, "Are you ok?" he lifted her arm to check on her, "Talk to us…ok, um…uh…" he kept trying to see if she was alright, doing everything short of having to give her CPR, "Breathe, breathe, come on," Evy checked the sonic as he listened for her breathing, "Gotta keep breathing…uh…" he moved to give her mouth-to-mouth, when Evy put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

She held up the sonic to him, "River," she called as he snatched the sonic and looked at the results himself, "You're holding your breath."

River's eyes opened and the Doctor jumped back, startled, "You're fine ones to talk about holding. How many hands do you have?"

"Get up," Evy laughed, pushing herself up and reaching out to help River up as well. River brushed off the bottom of her dress and smiled widely, seeing LJ sitting on the jump seat, trying to clap, and giggling at her.

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked as she walked over to LJ, scooping him up and tickling him. He pulled a lever and turned to lean against the console, "And who's shooting at you?"

"Oh just a few Sontarans," she remarked, making funny faces at LJ, "Chased me halfway across the galaxy."

"Do we want to know why?" Evy asked with a small smile as she leaned on the railing and crossed her arms.

River shrugged, turning to face them with LJ in her arms, "I asked them if they were on a hen night."

Evy laughed at that, "Probably not the best idea," she said at the same time the Doctor shouted, "River you can't do things like that!"

"Or what?" she turned to him, tugging LJ's hand away from her hair as he tried to pull at it. Evy shook her head and went to take him from her, it seemed he'd developed a bit of an obsession with pulling hair…oh he'd be a handful for sure, "You've already had me banged up in jail for five years. What else are you gonna do? Spank me?"

"You are not our daughter," the Doctor stuck out his tongue at her.

"Hold on a minute," River cut in, starting to frown, as she spotted the dress hanging there, "Have you brought someone else here?" she looked at them, annoyed, "Does _anyone_ agree to wear that dress?" before spinning on the spot and storming off, "Where is she?"

The Doctor rubbed his face, "River think it through…"

She just ran up the stairs, pausing at the top to look at him, "This happened the last time we were here! You brought someone else!"

"No, we didn't!"

"Yes, you did! I heard you talking to her!"

He paused, "Why aren't you yelling at Evy?"

"YOU'RE the one that brings home strays," River remarked with a huff, turning to go find the other woman. She didn't get to see LJ much as a baby and she treasured the time she got to spend with him, to have to share that with anyone else…

"It's the same night!" the Doctor called as Evy laughed behind him. He turned around, pointing a warning finger at her as she quieted down with a silent giggle.

"Doctor!" the younger River called, entering up the stairs with clothes in hand, "Were you talking to someone?"

"No, he was just talking to me," Evy answered with a smile.

River eyed her before turning and leaving, a moment before the older her entered again, "Were you talking to someone?!"

Evy bit her lip to keep from laughing, "No dear, just to me."

She left as well, the Doctor shaking his head at all this. Why was _he_ always the one to get yelled at?

' _Because half the time you're an idiot,_ ' she reminded him, ' _It's like how you were rude last time._ '

He pouted and Evy shook her head, moving to give him a little kiss, when the door to the TARDIS opened and yet another River, much older, wearing the golden dress, entered. The Doctor let his head drop onto Evy's shoulder as she turned to look at the next River. He shook his head, this just wasn't his night to get a kiss was it?

River shook her head at them, smiling, "You two just can't keep away can you…" she frowned, catching sight of the dress, "Evy?" she asked, fingering the straps of her dress, "Why have you brought another one of these? Who else is here?"

The Doctor glanced back over his shoulder and then to her, "River could you just check the light on top? I think the bulb needs changing."

"The bulb?" she asked, eyeing them a moment, before leaving to check.

Evy rolled her eyes and handed LJ to the Doctor, "That's it, _I'm_ taking over…"

"But…" the Doctor began.

She just pointed a warning finger at him, "In the span of 30 seconds you mange to get three River's in here. _I_ am piloting."

He pouted a moment and she sighed, about to give him a peck, when the second River waltzed in, "Who are you talking to?"

The Doctor let his head hang, he'd been _so_ close to getting that kiss.

Evy smirked at him before striding past him and over to River, "You," she told the woman, "We're talking to you," she pulled out her sonic, "Back to Stormcage River," and held up the Vortex Manipulator on River's wrist to work on.

"Oh at least give me a lift. You know what this thing does to my hair."

She laughed, "Yeah, nothing."

River pouted, "LJ gives me a lift all the time!"

She shook her head, "I'm not LJ," she smiled a bit, "I'm his mother," and River disappeared in a crack of energy.

The Doctor grinned at that and they both spun around, hearing the door open again. The oldest River entered, "The light's fine, I don't know what you're talking about…"

Suddenly a young man ran in after her, "No Riv!" he shouted, "Wrong TARDIS, it's parked around back…"

He trailed off, spotting them, giving them time to eye him. He was tall, dressed in a black suit with golden-metallic tie the color of River's dress. He had dark brown hair parted on the side, with ice blue eyes, very familiar coloring.

The Doctor and Evy looked at the baby in the Doctor's arms and back.

He grinned and pointed at them, "Mum, dad," and then gave a cheeky smirk, "Much _younger_ versions…"

"Oi!" Evy shouted, coming out of her shock at seeing their son grown up again, she'd never get used to that. Was that how Amy and Rory felt when they saw River?

"Two of them!" River breathed, staring at them with wide eyes, "The mind races, does it not?"

He laughed, about to speak, when the Doctor's distinctive voice called from outside, "Come on, you two, we'll be late!"

"Especially with the Doctor driving!" Evy's voice added.

River laughed and headed out, calling back to them, "We're going to the Singing Towers of Darillium! They've been promising for ages!"

The smiles on their faces began to fade, the Doctor hesitated a moment, rearranging LJ in his arms, "The first time we met River, at the Library, when she…" he glanced at Evy, not sure if he should tell.

"Died, yeah," the older LJ said quietly, "You told me," he glanced at his younger self and back at them.

Evy frowned, "She said Darillium was the last time she saw us…is that now?"

LJ gave them a sad smile, "Spoilers," he sighed, "Good luck tonight."'

"You too," Evy said softly, so sad for her son, having to experience that.

"Yeah," he nodded at them and turned to leave.

The youngest River walked up the stairs with an armful of clothes, her eyes widening as she saw the Older LJ leaving, "Oh! There's two of you!" she stepped over to the Doctor and tickled Baby LJ's chin, "The mind races!"

"Well, come on you," the Doctor shook his head as Evy took LJ back, "Let's go and see the stars!" he took the clothes from her.

"But I haven't changed!"

Evy smiled at her, "And you never will. Never ever."

She gave them a suspicious look, "What was the other him doing here?"

"Sorry," the Doctor grinned as well, "Can't say."

"What's that word you use?"

"Spoilers?" Evy laughed.

"I like that word."

"We knew you would."

She sighed but smiled at them, "You two and your secrets, you'll be the death of me," she walked around them to the other end of the console as LJ squirmed in Evy's arms.

_What did he mean, she dies in a Library?_ LJ gurgled at them.

They glanced at River to see her just looking at the settings and the controls, jotting something in her diary, thankful she didn't know other languages such as Baby yet.

They looked at each other before sighing, they weren't going to lie to him, not about something like this, ' _In our past, River's future,_ ' Evy projected to her son, not wanting River to hear them, ' _We were trapped and River sacrificed herself to save us._ '

LJ frowned as he looked up at his parents, silent a moment.

' _We're so sorry Sigma,_ ' the Doctor said to his son, easier to communicate with him than the minds of others. They knew that LJ was already very fond of River, that he was aware that she knew him very well from the little interactions he had with her and from what he'd gleamed from them. In that moment then, he knew they were _very_ good friends in the future.

_Then she should have the best life ever_ , he determined, blinking.

They smiled, ' _We'll make sure of it,_ ' Evy promised him.

"Right!" the Doctor clapped, "We've got stars to see!" and then he and Evy dashed around the console, setting the coordinates and they were off.

To be continued...in...A Trio of Time Lords!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for this story, check back tomorrow for the start of A Trio of Time Lords ;)
> 
> I just want to thank all of you. Readers/reviews/favoriters/followers/and anyone else I didn't list. You guys are incredible, amazing people. Your reviews have really inspired me and helped me become a better writer. I'm really glad you liked this story :) I love you guys ^-^


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